The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study explores how teachers described their perceptions within a mandated reading program, as the program supported reading comprehension skills for students in second, third, and fourth grade at three public elementary schools in Upstate New York. The theoretical foundation of this study was established…

The academic landscape has been changing over the last several years bringing with it an emphasis on high stakes testing. Studies conducted over the past several years that have shown the success of the Question-Answer-Relationships (QAR) strategy in helping students develop their comprehension skill. This study looks at the effects of the QAR…

To implement Response to Intervention with intermediate-grade struggling readers, there is a need for interventions that are responsive to individual student needs, and sufficiently comprehensive to support the many dimensions of the reading process. This research examined the efficacy of such an intervention, the Interactive Strategies…

The disparity between the results of state accountability tests in reading and the fourth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has left many educators dismayed and concerned. In this article the authors describe a comparison of assessment approaches evident in NAEP to the approaches taken in a sample of state tests. The authors…

'This action research study was conducted on a fourth grade rural classroom in Orange County, N.Y. for the purpose of determining if the use of the VoiceThread program will affect student performance in mathematics writing. A baseline of student performance on this measure was administered in the fall of 2010 using the NYS Holistic rubric of a 3…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. Overall results, achievement level percentages and average score results, comparison of the average score in 2009 to other…

The effect of individualized instruction programs on academic achievement and attitudes of elementary school children was evaluated. It was hypothesized that students in individualized programs would have significantly higher achievement scores and more positive attitudes toward school and self and greater self-direction when compared to their…