Strong reading and literacy skills are essential for students' success in K-12 and beyond by providing the foundation for understanding the world and communicating effectively. This Spotlight will help readers learn how classroom conversations can boost reading proficiency; identify research on how to get students absorbed in reading; examine…

This tool was developed to assist school leaders in observing specific research-based practices during literacy instruction in grade 4-12 classrooms and students' independent use or application of those practices. The tool aims to help school leaders conduct brief and frequent walkthroughs throughout the school year. The tool consists of three…

Using a paired national cross-section of third grade teacher and principal Schools and Staffing Survey data from 2007 to 2008, comparisons were made regarding teachers' and elementary principals' reports of instructional time distributions for English Language Arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and reading in third grade during a full…

This research was designed with the primary purpose of identifying the dimensions of principal support perceived by public high school teachers in Virginia and identifying the relationship between principal support and organizational citizenship behaviors. In addition, this study also examined the relationship between principal support and student…

A teacher's role was dramatically changed from that of an educator to that of a facilitator with the adoption of semi-scripted curriculums. This case study explores teachers' perception and implementation of a state's English Language Arts curriculum in first-grade classrooms. Four first-grade teachers from a large urban school district were…

The federal government, through NCLB legislation, has provided target proficiency goals schools will be accountable to meet. Missouri public elementary schools use these target goals to determine their success. The focus of this study was to examine the highly effective public elementary schools in Missouri that met or exceeded the 2011 Adequate…

The purpose of this study was to discover and compare perceptions of three different groups of Indiana elementary educators concerning the importance of areas of the principal's literacy knowledge base, as well as responsibility for and use of this knowledge by principals to adequately support effective research-based literacy instruction. The…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law, which changed the kindergarten entry age so that children must turn 5 by September instead of December to enroll. The new grade level was put into place to promote school readiness for California's youngest learners. It also established a new grade…

The Project PRIMES (Progress Research in Meeting Elementary Standards) system examines elementary schools in light of minimum standards set by the Ohio State Department of Education. This evaluation instrument includes sections on the use of test results, pupil evaluation, teacher profile, administrator strengths and weaknesses, instructional…

The four Special Emphasis Elementary Schools in the Corpus Christi Independent School District have markedly increased students' achievement, particularly in reading and language arts. This study was conducted to determine the perceived impact of the Special Emphasis (SE) components and to aid in the implementation of future SE schools. The…

This report summarizes Austin ISD's state-funded Optional Extended Year Program activities for the 2006-2007 school year.

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 24 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) learning experiences resulting from two ways of teaching reading; (2) Right to Read competencies of urban principals as perceived by three groups in reading…

The Pennsylvania Comprehensive Reading/Communication Arts Plan (PCRP) is a language arts curriculum providing four critical experiences that all students need in order to become competent in reading, writing, listening, and speaking: responding to literature, sustained silent reading, oral and written composing, and investigating and mastering…

The report of an Invitational Reading Work Conference held in Denver in February 1966 suggests guidelines for examining existing curricula and establishing new reading programs and develops guidelines for planning and implementing reading programs which deal with the causes of reading problems. Conference leaders are listed. The contents (1)…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) teacher behavior patterns during episodes of reading instruction in grades 4, 5, and 6; (2) the influence of teachers' conceptual frameworks of reading on…