This research project investigated the effect of kindergarten time schedule on the reading achievement of an intact sample (n = 156), and three stratified sub-samples of high-risk (n = 53), mid-risk (n = 59), and low-risk learners (n = 44). Students entering kindergarten at five Reading First schools in September 2004 (n = 435) were randomly…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of developmental students enrolled in a developmental reading course in a community college setting. A reading course questionnaire and interest/attitude inventory was completed by the students. In addition, individual interview were conducted. Eight students participated in the study that…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a dual language immersion program had a significant effect on the reading literacy achievement of Spanish and English speaking seventh and eighth graders who were in the program for three years. The research design was a quasi-experimental, nonrandom quantitative research using ex-post facto data.…

This case study examined the general question: "What are the best practices for teaching. English language learners how to read?" Furthermore, this study sought to discover specifically: How do students using Houghton Mifflin Reading Program with supplementals and Rigby Reading Program with supplementals compare in terms of academic gains?; What…

The explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies has been proposed as a means to better prepare secondary school-aged students for today's information-dense, fast-paced, fast-changing global society, and to improve the academic performance of struggling adolescent readers. This proposition of a direct and positive impact of reading…

There is considerable debate about the relative importance of family versus school factors in producing academic and nonacademic student outcomes, and whether and how their impacts vary across different student groups. In addition to critically reviewing and synthesizing earlier work, this study extends the literature by (a) using the ECLS-K, a…

Enrollment in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) schools is declining as is the number of schools and teachers. While there could be many reasons for this, one perception of SDA schools, held by parents, teachers, pastors, and school board members, is that students enrolled in schools with one, two, or three teachers do not achieve at the same rate as…

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts, schools, and educators are pressured to collect, analyze and report data annually regarding student performance. If high-stakes assessments are to be useful tools for educators in their classrooms, the data need to be applicable in conveying meaningful instructional information…

This study examined the effects of the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) curriculum on reading achievement of students with various motivational levels. A 2X2 factorial design was used. The sample population consisted of 104 fourth grade students from an upper middle class school system in Connecticut. All students were administered a…

This study positioned the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002 as a reified colonizing entity, inscribing its hegemonic authority upon the professional identity and work of school principals within their school communities of practice. Pressure on educators and students intensifies each year as the benchmark for Adequate Yearly Progress…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of participation in Read 180, a teacher-mediated, computer-mediated reading instruction program, on the reading proficiency of 4th and 5th grade English Language Learners. The students who participated in the Read 180 program scored below the 25th percentile on the Florida Comprehensive…

This study tracked the reading progress of former Reading Recovery students in Darlington County, South Carolina over a period of four years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reading achievement outcomes of one hundred thirty three students who received (or recognized as eligible to receive) Reading Recovery tutoring during first…

Background: The No Child Left Behind Act legislation requires both higher standards and higher success rates at the same time. Failure of students to learn to read adequately as shown by national and state test results and the need for continued school success had prompted education officials to implement two reading programs--Voyager Universal…

At its most fundamental level, like all instruction, comprehension instruction is composed of moment-to-moment interactions among students and between students and their teacher. Children's competence at making meaning from texts and their motivation to read are shaped by a variety of classroom influences, one of the most important of which may be…

This study examined the differential effects of two components of the Interactive Strategies Approach (ISA) professional development program on outcomes related to teacher knowledge, teacher practice, and student reading achievement. The professional development for teachers focused on word solving skill among struggling first grade readers. The…