Background: Reading instruction begins at the primary level with reading comprehension issues manifesting themselves by the 3rd-grade and becoming more pronounced by fourth-grade. While primary teachers often teach narrative comprehension skills, middle school teachers have the responsibility to teach both narrative and expository comprehension skills. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the viability of the Secondary Explicit Comprehension Model of Instruction for middle school teachers to use with students. This study posed the following research questions: 1) What are the perceptions of middle school teachers on the use of the Secondary Explicit Comprehension Model of Instruction? and 2) What is the impact of the Secondary Explicit Comprehension Model of Instruction on the performance of students who repeated the "State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Grade 8 Reading Assessment?" Methods: This study used a mixed methods approach to answer the research questions. The qualitative data included observation notes and teacher survey responses. The quantitative data included students' pre-test and post-test scores on the "STAAR Grade 8 Reading Assessment." Descriptive statistics were used to describe the impact of selected literacy strategies on the reading comprehension of middle school students. Constant comparative analysis was used to identify the emergent themes related to teacher perceptions about the use of the Secondary Explicit Comprehension Model of Instruction. Results: The results of this study identified three emergent themes: 1) implementation fidelity, 2) viability of the Secondary Explicit Comprehension Model of Instruction to other content areas, and 3) impact of the Secondary Explicit Comprehension Model of Instruction on students who repeated an administration of the "STAAR Grade 8 Reading Assessment." Conclusion: Results suggested that the Secondary Explicit Comprehension Model of Instruction is a viable instructional framework that could be used in classroom settings to support middle school educators in effectively teaching reading comprehension skills. [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.]