Education Commons^™

A Study Of The Relationship Between Nonverbal Kindergarten Ability And Third-Grade Reading Achievement, Aaron John Wills

Dissertations

Increased scrutiny of educational proficiency targets has intensified the urgency for educators to identify measurements that indicate students’ likelihood of eventual achievement in reading. This regression analysis explored the relationship between nonverbal ability in kindergarten as measured by the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) and eventual third-grade achievement in reading and writing as measured by the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP). Naglieri and Ronning (2000) found a range of correlational r values from .49 to .56 when comparing NNAT results to results from the Stanford Achievement Test 9 (SAT-9) in reading when tested concurrently at various grade levels. The present research …

The Effect Of Teacher Retention On Student Achievement In Third Grade Reading/Language Arts, Kathy Bang Sellers

Dissertations

The United States government has placed emphasis on the placement of highly qualified teachers within each classroom through the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This becomes more difficult when teachers become frustrated for various reasons and leave the profession of teaching before gaining the necessary experience to positively impact student achievement.

The purpose of the study was to examine the possible relationship between teacher retention, teachers staying within the teaching profession, and the effect it has on student achievement. The study is based on individual teachers' class summary reports from the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010 …

Leading Schools To Increased Reading Achievement: An Investigation Into Effective Reading Instruction, Patricia Anne Alford

Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of two models of middle school reading instruction as measured by mean scores of middle school students on a state criterion-referenced test. Two cohorts of students were repeatedly compared over a three year period: students who received reading instruction as a core content class (Intervention A) and students who received reading instruction through content-area courses of math, social studies, science, and language arts (Intervention B). The independent variable was the reading program implemented and the dependent variables were the scale scores on the Reading portion of the CRCT test. A mixed model analysis of variance …

Student Achievement In Block And Non-Block Schedule Schools, William Shelton Smith Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the number of minutes allocated for high school instructional periods influences student achievement. The study also examined the perceptions of principals regarding one method of instructional time allocation, block scheduling.

The study examined the differences in student achievement on a high school exit examination in the content areas of Reading and Mathematics between schools in a southern state using a four-period block schedule and schools using a non-block schedule in order to ascertain if the type of schedule has any impact on student achievement. Additionally, information pertaining to scheduling was collected …

Teacher Professional Development And Its Effects On Reading Instruction, Kristen Lea Suarez

Dissertations

The world of education is an ever-evolving profession. We, as a society, have learned so much about education and how we can better benefit our students. Students depend on education to equip them with the tools needed to become successful. This dissertation addresses the need for and adequacy of today’s teacher professional development in Reading instruction and how that training can translate into more meaningful classroom education.

The writer surveyed elementary Reading teachers in grades 3-6 from two school districts in southern Mississippi to determine their perceptions concerning various elements of the professional development training they received during the 2009-2010 …

The Impact Of Title I Program Funding Through A Comparison Of Schoolwide Assistance And Targeted Assistance On Fifth Grade Reading Achievement Scores In Illinois: Implications For Leadership In Public Education, Michael E. Robey

Dissertations

The ability to read with proficiency and comprehension is one of the basic goals of our educational system. Adequacy of funding these goals, particularly for lower income students, continues to be a challenge. Despite the efforts of a variety of educational reforms many students, particularly the economically disadvantaged, continue to struggle with basic reading skills.

The intent of this study is to help school leaders in identifying whether schoolwide or targeted assistance programs funded through Title I schools are associated with higher reading achievement. The study measured reading achievement for fifth grade students in Illinois using data from the Illinois …

Kindergarten Assessments As A Predictor For A Student’S Need For Intervention, Victoria Ellen Weinketz Hoover

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the kindergarten assessment results from the three windows in reading, written communication, and mathematics were a valid predictor of a student’s need for intervention up until the conclusion of second grade. Reynolds (1992) suggested that a student’s overall school success is reflective of the approach taken early in kindergarten. With the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts have set in place strategies to meet the standard of all students reading on grade level at the conclusion of the third grade. If districts are to rise to the …

Examining The Relationship Among Reading Curriculum-Based Measures, Level Of Language Proficiency, And State Accountability Test Scores With Middle School Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners, Nicole Osterman Stokes

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive ability of oral reading fluency (R-CBM) on a sixth grade high-stakes assessment with ELL and non- ELL students, as well as determine the average rate of growth on R-CBM and how that relates to level of English Proficiency. The participants in the current study included 350 sixth grade students from a middle school located in west Phoenix, AZ. Ninety of the 350 students were English Language Learners at varying levels of language proficiency in English. Archival data was used for the study. Each participant completed R-CBM three times throughout …

The Implementation Of Interventions And Strategies For Children Who Struggle With Reading Utilizing The Read 180 Program, Rebecca Josephine Haag Guyne

Dissertations

All children can learn if given the opportunity, correct assistance, and appropriate instruction. Finding the learning tools which will enhance and encourage learning is the ultimate way to make certain that all students can and will learn. Many teachers use their gut instinct to determine the interventions and strategies to present in their classroom. Improvement will only occur for teachers and students when best practice or research based interventions and strategies are not only accessible but utilized correctly on a daily basis. Children with reading disabilities find fluency and reading comprehension a challenge. The most effective method reported in the …

A First Year Program Evaluation Of Language Essentials For Teachers Of Reading And Spelling: The Effect On Student Achievement And Teacher Perception, Danielle C. Vogelsang

Dissertations

An indicator of student achievement is the ability to read. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000) stated that reading comprehension is critically important to the development of children’s reading skills and their ability to obtain an education. The ability to read was found to be both necessary and crucial for academic success. With the adoption of No Child Left Behind, national concern about the quality of our schools and the achievement of all students was as high as it has ever been. The primary purposes of this study were to (a) investigate the impact of the …

The Effects Of Reading Nonfiction Aloud On The Vocabulary Acquisition Of Middle-School Students, Patricia Ann Braun

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if eighth-graders could acquire vocabulary incidentally while listening to nonfiction read-alouds connected to the physical sciences curriculum. In this quasi-experimental study 3 of 6 intact eighth-grade science classes listened to 14 nonfiction read-aloud selections of nonfiction passages selected from books not commonly found in schools but which related to the curriculum which the students would be experiencing in eighth grade. Pretests and posttests were administered to all 6 classes comprising 154 students. Reading ability was included as a variable. Target words comprised of technical and nontechnical words. Assessments included a vocabulary matching …

Factors That Are Associated With Students' Standardized Reading Achievement Scores, Cherie Nichole Mothershead

Dissertations

This study examined the factors that are associated with students' standardized reading achievement scores. The participants in this study were obtained from two sources: a national and a regional sample. The national participants were located throughout the United States of America, and the regional participants were from a school district in a southeastern state.

The data for the national sample were provided by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, and the regional sample was provided by surveying all fifth grade teachers in a school district from a southeastern state. These two …

Teacher Perceptions Of Their Effectiveness In Supporting Reading Strategies As A Result Of Collaboration With A Literacy Coach, Sharon S. Miller

Dissertations

Problem

The poor reading and comprehension skills of many secondary-school students present a challenge for secondary teachers, the majority of whom have no training in the teaching of reading. The increasing expectations of the No Child Left Behind legislature add to the pressures on public educators. Is coaching an effective way to support and encourage secondary content-area teachers to include reading strategies in their daily work with students?

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to examine the literacy coach initiative in two small junior-senior high schools. A further purpose was to closely study the coach and two of the …