The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to describe the associations between the specific Central Florida district's final instructional summative evaluation scores and student achievement scores for Grade 4 instructional staff teaching ELA or mathematics within the district for the school year 2017-2018. The self-determination…

The Literacy Footprints Digital Reader provides elementary grade students and teachers with online access to books and resources from the Literacy Footprints Complete System of Guided Reading. Teachers can create a bookshelf of appropriate books for students to read independently and can create assignments for individuals or groups of students.…

This study was conducted with 11th- and 12th-grade high school students in western Florida. These students were not meeting the required achievement level in English language arts needed for graduation. This qualitative study investigated the barriers that hinder high school students' achievement in English language arts as a graduation…

One of the categories of failing public schools is turnaround schools, which requires effective school leadership and teachers to improve student achievement scores. However, the impact of principals' self-efficacy beliefs in successfully turning around failing schools is unknown. The purpose of this research was to investigate principal…

While numerous studies have been conducted to determine the impact of grade retention on future academic achievement and psychosocial development, few studies have targeted Florida-specific grade retention as mandated by Florida law. As it exists today, there is very little evidence that the practice of retaining students resulted in increased…

Standardized testing is generally regarded in schools today as the primary way to measure and determine student achievement. Student performance determines the degree to which schools, teachers, and students are identified as being successful. The problem being investigated by this study was that all students are spending too much classroom…

Over 60 years of conflicting messaging about the usefulness and impact of grammar on writing has guided instructional practice in K-12 classrooms across the country. In Florida, like many other states, reading scores have continued to decline despite multiple efforts to identify the root causes of learning deficiencies. Even though research…

This paper examines the impact of Teach For America (TFA) on following-year student test and non-test outcomes in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This paper measures the extent to which exposure to TFA is followed by improved student outcomes in the future. In particular, this paper measures days missed due to absences or suspensions, course…

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…

This study investigated the impact the Achieve3000 program had on reading growth and reading proficiency of 1,531 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from four Title 1 middle schools in Florida who were enrolled in remedial reading classes. Archival data from the Florida Standards Assessment English language arts provided pre-and-post data…

Most public K-12 schools in the United States enact a school improvement plan each year based upon the state testing results from the previous year. Despite the many frameworks, research, and recommendations, few scholars tackled what the plans contain and the results. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods model, two stages examined school…

High school graduation rates in the United States are at an all-time high, yet many of these graduates are deemed not ready for postsecondary coursework when they enter college. This study examines the short-, medium-, and long-term effects of remedial courses in middle school using a regression discontinuity design. While the short-term test…

This quantitative causal-comparative study, based on secondary data analysis, measured the differences between neighboring Title I traditional elementary schools and Title 1 charter elementary schools in Florida in terms of (a) ELA performance and (b) math performance. More specifically, the study examined the third grade ELA and math scores of 60…

The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of writing instruction across time and grade bands. We used quantitative and qualitative analyses of teacher interviews and video records of classroom instruction of English language arts writing instruction in 97 fourth- through eighth-grade classrooms in 2010 and 2018. Video records showed a…

All Florida schools teach the Florida Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics and the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) in Science and Social Studies. Student performance provides important information to parents/guardians, teachers, policy makers, and the general public regarding how well students are learning.…