This study was conducted to compare two elementary schools to determine what strategies were being used to cause a significant difference in the scores between the two schools. One school is a high poverty, high minority, high growth school while the other school is a high poverty, high minority, low performing school within the same rural school district. This mixed-methods study was conducted to determine the factors making a significant impact on student achievement in high poverty schools. As part of the study, fourth-grade teachers were selected to participate in a focus group to examine attitudes about student achievement. The North Carolina End of Grade reading scores for 152 fourth-grade students were included in this study. The high minority, high growth school has teachers with advanced degrees and veteran teachers while the high poverty, high minority, low performing school has teachers with limited experience. The teachers at the high minority, high growth school have high expectations for their students and believe the Common Core State Standards are helping their students grow. The teachers at the high poverty, high minority, low performing school have low expectations and feel the Common Core State Standards are too challenging for their students. The results demonstrate students in high poverty; high minority schools can be successful. [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.]