The purpose of this quantitative observational study was to identify the differences in high school student test scores on the ACT ELA composite tests and ACT math test for students attending school in union and unified districts in Arizona. Arizona has two options for public high school districts, 9-12 (union) and K-12 (unified). The researcher…

State assessment test scores in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics had continued to decline in a southern state in the United States over the last few years. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the difference in middle school ELA and mathematics test scores between students receiving instruction in virtual and…

This dissertation examines the connection between the English Language Arts Professional Learning Community, data analysis, and research-based instructional strategies to improve students reading levels, as measured by the Pennsylvania Literature Keystone Exam at an Urban High School. It is a mixed-method study. Data were collected from 9th -12th…

In schools, literacy is often positioned as a fixed set of reading and writing skills. This can limit what counts as an academically acceptable literacy practice despite the complex and nuanced ways people communicate in their personal and social contexts. With this tension around conceptions of literacy in mind, I wondered how teachers thought…

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine the extent to which a statistically significant difference existed in eighth-grade English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics achievement between groups of students of low socioeconomic status (SES) who participated in a Washington school district's one-to-one laptop…

The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, comparative study was to investigate the effect of teacher retention on the academic assessment of 8th-grade middle school students. The South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) examination measured students' English/Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics academic performance. This…

Purpose: Preservice English teachers are expected to use literary theories and criticism to read and respond to literary texts. Over the past century, two of the most common approaches to literary encounters in secondary schools have been New Criticism -- particularly the practice of close reading -- and Rosenblatt's transactional theory, both of…

In this article, the author argues that living literacies--relational, embodied forms of literacy engagement--are an integral component of literacy engagement and hold the potential to disrupt and reconfigure the power structures embedded within schooled literacy. Drawing on affect theory and rhizomatic theory, the author analyzes youths' literacy…

Research that looks at the nuances of teaching English language arts in rural secondary classrooms is a growing field. Yet, there are limited studies focusing on rural secondary classrooms in the Southeastern United States, Georgia specifically. The primary goal of this project is to understand what it looks like to teach English in rural…

Student learning is substantially impacted by the choice of curriculum, and a significant predictor of achievement gain is the level of implementation. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore implementation experiences of primary and middle school teachers of English Language Arts (ELAR) curriculum at a rural school…

This study aimed to investigate the impact of implementing Open Educational Resources (OER) course materials on student engagement and achievement in a 10th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classroom at a high-poverty, rural school district. Research suggests that the implementation of OER materials in a K-12 setting can positively impact student…

Teacher retention and shortages have long been an issue with this profession. This is not a new topic, but after the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm in March of 2020, education has not been the same and our students are paying the price with the shortage of high-quality teachers in our nation's classrooms. Teachers have left the…

Although authors often create literary texts in order to comment on issues of personhood and human relationships, reading and writing about literary texts in schools is often focused on close analysis of literary elements or exploration of one's own experience with the text. Thus, students' written arguments about literature typically do little…

Historically, language instruction involving Black Language (BL) assumes a goal of eradication, particularly in school-sanctioned literacy practices. Language arts education for Black students must be liberatory, that is, antiracist and artful. The opportunities for English Language Arts (ELA) teachers to create, augment, and change the course of…

This qualitative study highlights the practices of current secondary English language arts teachers who graduated from the teacher education program at George Mason University to address the following research questions: (1) To what extent and in what ways do English language arts teachers who graduated from one teacher education program that…