The problem examined in this qualitative case study was that Math I scores of high school students do not meet the defined state proficiency standards in North Carolina despite current instructional strategies. Because high school students are not proficient in Math I standards, it is causing the student to get further behind in math and the district/school does not meet their achievement level required by the Department of Public Instruction. The purpose of study was to examine the perceptions of instructional strategies to improve Math I scores of high school students to meet defined state proficiency standards in North Carolina. The theoretical framework was guided by Marzano's nine instructional strategies. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and focus groups from participants in an eastern district in North Carolina. After analyzing the data with NVivo, the results revealed five themes. Research Question 1: What instructional strategies do teachers employ in their math class to help high school students reach proficiency level in Math I? The themes were as follows: (a) active learning amongst the students; (b) repetition is the key; and (c) the need to know. Research Question 2: What recommendations do high school Math I teachers suggest helping improve Math I scores? The themes were as follows: (a) ready to move forward; and (b) taking things a little more seriously. In this study the implications of the results coincide with the theoretical framework of Marzano's nine instructional strategies as well as other current literature. A future recommendation for the practice would be to use quantitative methods to examine the relationship between intervention types and proficiency scores for students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]