The purpose of this qualitative study is to determine how four rural school districts in East Tennessee worked to implement the third-grade retention law within their understanding and interpretation of the law to the benefit of the students and overall communities they serve. The study used a semi-structured questionnaire format conducted with a…

Academic achievement and absenteeism are two areas that schools are held accountable. Helping families and communities understand the correlation between achievement and attendance is an essential part of improving attendance. The purpose of this research study was to compare student attendance and academic achievement on the CASE Benchmark exams…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between student ELA growth scores among two intervention programs based on the delivery method. Multiple tools have been implemented in schools to improve student learning outcomes in reading. These include but are not limited to Reading Plus (RP) and Leveled Literacy…

In order to identify students at risk of failing the Tennessee high-stakes achievement test known as the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), early literacy skills are monitored using reading assessments. Common reading assessments are based upon varying theories of reading development and do not reflect the necessary reading…

The study reported in this article investigated the differential effects of teachers on female, minority, and low-socioeconomic-status (SES) students' achievement. I used data from a 4-year, large-scale, randomized experiment (Project STAR) that was conducted between 1985 and 1989 in Tennessee, in which students and teachers were randomly assigned…

This research investigated the effects of two contrasting pre-k curricula, relative to practice as usual, on subsequent academic achievement. One curriculum had a strong literacy focus, the other was a less didactic "developmentally appropriate" curriculum that allowed children to have more influence on classroom activities. The purpose…

Professional development that increases quality classroom instruction is a concern of school administrators and professional educators. Using survey, observation, and interview methods, four rural schools in the Upper Cumberland area of Tennessee were examined to determine if professional development supported by the Reading Excellence Act…

This study was designed to examine the associations and differences that exist in the NCE scores of students on the "Terranova" portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Exam, as well as the possible influence of variables such as initial scores, grade level, gender, and free or reduced lunch status. The population consisted of a stable…