Purpose: The overarching purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which differences existed in Grade 4 STAAR Writing performance by student economic status, gender, and language status. In the first article, the purpose was to investigate the extent to which student economic status (i.e., Not Poor, Moderately Poor,…

Critical-thinking development can enhance students' reasoning and thinking abilities, but the extent to which additional critical-thinking instruction can enhance academic performance remains unclear. Therefore, there is a need to investigate whether providing additional critical-thinking instruction can improve academic performance. This study…

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which Grade 4 Black students differed in their reading performance on the Texas state-mandated assessment by their gender and by their economic status. Specifically addressed was the degree to which differences were presented in their ability to…

Twenty-first-century schools serve socio-culturally diverse students with varied abilities and motivations for learning (Learning First Alliance, 2001). Preparing students for life success requires a broad, balanced education that ensures their mastery of essential academic skills and prepares them to become responsible adults (Association for…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students had their educational experiences disrupted as schools became shuttered and for some students virtual schooling began. When school facilities closed and online began, families had increased responsibilities for their children's education. Subsequently, there is an increase in attention to…

The reading achievement gap between Black and White students was 29 points in Florida, depicting an alarming eight-point increase over that of the United States. Within School District A, the reading achievement gap was over 40% for over 4 years resulting in a district-wide plan for reconciliation and to determine the contributing factors of the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the reading assessment performance between Black male students and their same grade level counterparts. Assessment results and teacher perceptions were analyzed to reveal instructional supports to demonstrate reading achievement. The mean scores and pass rates based on race and gender…

Mobile and other internet-connected devices infiltrate society, including K-12 classrooms. A large body of research indicated that these devices might distract students; however, other studies have revealed many benefits when the devices are used for educational purposes. This study aimed to examine the relationships between the use of mobile…

This quantitative study was conducted to determine if (a) there was a significant difference in the percentage of student office discipline referrals before and after Social- Emotional Learning (SEL) implementation in 3rd through 5th grade, (b) there was a significant difference in the percentage of student in-house mental health referrals before…

The Conover Solution is a nonparametric method used to analyze relative growth in students' achievement on state tests administered on two or more occasions. However, there has been very little research assessing the robustness of this method in the presence of missing data. Using vertically scaled and non-vertically scaled data from the math…

This quantitative study sought to determine relationships between third through fifth grade boys' and girls' perceptions of connectedness to their school community and between their behavioral outcomes. This study also sought to determine the effect of students' perceptions and gender on their numbers of discipline referrals incurred. Students'…

School climate is a malleable construct that schools or districts can utilize to target the individualized needs of specific groups of students. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceptions of different school climate dimensions and reading and mathematics achievement scores for elementary school students of…

This dissertation researched the scope of mathematics achievement disparities in the United States and how these disparities can be minimized through a self-efficacy lens. To answer pertinent research questions with data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2019 mathematics assessment in Grades 4, 8, and 12, gap analyses,…

The opportunity gap continues to widen in the U.S. education setting due to the ever-growing diversification of student populations resulting in part from increasing numbers of BIPOC students in schools. Meanwhile, most educators continue to be White middle-class females. In this study, fourth- and fifth-grade students at a K-8 charter school were…

The purpose of the current research is to determine the effect of changing the English Language Art curriculum on the reading growth of fourth-grade students who attended a public school district located in a suburban community in the Northeastern part of the United States. This ex-post facto study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the…