Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is an economic opportunity for an urban school district in Tennessee. Lack of interest in STEM courses was throughout schools with underrepresented populations. An urban district in Tennessee with few schools implementing STEM initiated instructional practices to increase…

High schools around the nation are attempting to find a solution to the "9th-grade bulge," and the ever-growing systematic problem of 9th grade retention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the daily bell schedule on ninth-grade student achievement and overall school performance. A mixed method, sequential…

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental, nonequivalent comparison-group design was to determine if "How to Learn Math: For Students" (Boaler, 2018) had a statistically significant influence on ninth-grade and tenth-grade students' mathematical achievement and the achievement gap across socioeconomic status. Participants…

School leaders play an important role in creating a caring and supportive environment in which teachers can be successful. In this dissertation in practice (DiP), the scholar-practitioner examined an active learning environment that demonstrated how school leadership took strategic measures for improving student participation in a national…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental, ex post facto study was to examine the effectiveness of school counselor check-ins on ninth grade on-track data, focusing primarily on at-risk students during the first semester of their freshman year. This study was designed to measure the effect school counselor check-ins delivered three times during the…

The effects of transitions impact students across academic levels in many ways. The transition to high school can be a vulnerable time; moreover, it may be an optimal time for preventive interventions. As students matriculate and transition from middle to high school, a concentrated effort must be made to improve the practices to best support…

This qualitative, phenomenological research study explores the best practices that secondary Grades 6-12 educators employ when using microcontrollers in the classroom. Governmental and private organizations have investigated and promoted the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and computer science in education (Code…

Within the secondary level of education covering students in grades 6-12, reading comprehension continues to be an area of concern for traditional public-school educators. Because students lack the foundations of reading upon entering middle and high school, on average across the United States, many students struggle to meet high school graduation…

This three-manuscript dissertation used a rapid PDSA to improve teacher efficacy concerning designing and teaching an unleveled 9th grade science class. Leveling and tracking can lead to inequitable outcomes and experiences for minoritized students. However, designing and implementing effective heterogeneous, unleveled classes that meet the needs…

The U.S. Education system is founded on a Eurocentric focus of curriculum, and students of color are not achieving as high as white students on the National Assessment for Education Progress in science. This research aims to repay the education debt owed to students of color by decolonizing science curriculum through the implementation of lessons…

This study investigated the effects of "Sketch and Speak" expository language intervention for adolescent students with language-related learning disabilities (LLD). Students with LLD have trouble understanding and using academic language for reading and writing and often benefit from explicit instruction in these areas. "Sketch and…

The transition from middle school to high school is known to be one of the most critical times in a student's educational career. Ninth-grade students walk into larger schools; for some physical, emotional, and social developmental stages initiate; many encounter new demands of more rigorous academics; opportunities for participation in various…

High school graduation rates gradually increased to 80% until 1968, at which point there was a steady decline until 2002 when the passage of No Child Left Behind required states to measure and increase graduation rates for all students (Kamenetz, 2015). With this greater accountability in place, educators readily identified ninth grade as a…

This study explores using transfer learning in machine learning for natural language processing (NLP) to create generic automated essay scoring (AES) models, providing instant online scoring for statewide writing assessments in K-12 education. The goal is to develop an instant online scorer that is generalizable to any prompt, addressing the…

This phenomenological study aims to understand and establish the influence of student voice, particularly from marginalized students, in the school improvement process to yield positive student experiences for urban, comprehensive ninth- through twelfth-grade high schools in the United States Midwest. The focus of this study will be to compare the…