The purpose of this study was to determine if there are significant differences in the English/Language Arts proficiency scores of elementary school students who attend a traditional public school or one of two types of turnaround schools in a large metropolitan school district in the southern region of the United States. The goal was to determine…

This phenomenological study addressed the factors of an institutionalized peer to peer mentoring program that fostered academic success and persistence among Black male students graduating from a predominantly White four-year public university in Tennessee through the lens of the critical race theory. Data was gathered through face-to-face,…

This phenomenological study addressed the factors of an institutionalized peer to peer mentoring program that fostered academic success and persistence among Black male students graduating from a predominantly White four-year public university in Tennessee through the lens of the critical race theory. Data was gathered through face-to-face,…

The implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) has increased over the years and provided students with the support needed to close the learning gap and succeed in school. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of the effectiveness of the RTI framework in a rural school district in Tennessee. The study included kindergarten…

With the cost of intervening being less costly prior to school entry, one strategy being used to decrease the achievement gap is to provide access to quality preschool education for economically disadvantaged children prior to kindergarten entry (Bailet, et al., 2011; Lee, Zhai, Brooks-Gunn, & Han, 2014). The purpose of this study was to…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference between a student's reading/language arts TCAP scale score and his or her lunch status for students in grades three, four, and five within two school systems in Tennessee. The population consisted of 2,442 students who were in grades three, four, and five during the 2014-2015…

Current reading assessment results continue to be a concern nationally and in Tennessee. NAEP assessments indicate that less than half of all 4 th graders tested are below proficiency. More specifically, the Tennessee NAEP indicated that 4th graders are scoring below proficiency in reading. A plethora of research indicated that reading proficiency…

This causal-comparative research explored how African American students' perceptions of their math teachers affected their academic performance on the Math Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Test during 2009-2010 academic year. When considering possible measures of teacher effectiveness in K-12 education, it can be argued that…

Critical issues are confronting educators regarding increasing student achievement levels in reading, math and science in United States' public schools. Educators and legislators are attempting to make radical changes in instructional methodology and to find viable and sustainable solutions to problems associated with poor student achievement.…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were a significant difference in math and reading academic achievement scores between eighth-grade students attending year-round calendar schools and eighth-grade students attending traditional calendar schools based on the TCAP. In addition, this study investigated math and reading achievement…

Comparing a small, rural school with sometimes less than 100 students to a massive inner-city school with greater than 2,500 students is crude and untenable. There are simply too many variables. Nonetheless, the No Child Left Behind Act treats these two very different schools the same. When urban and rural schools cannot meet AYP or highly…