The problem under study was that in a state in the midwestern United States, there was a disparity in reading scores between secondary schools of similar demographics. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the strategies and approaches used by secondary teachers whose students' reading achievements exceeded those of other students. Shulman's pedagogical content knowledge and Bandura's theory of self-efficacy were used as the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected from one-on-one interviews with 10 participants and analyzed with open coding. The findings indicated how to combine content and pedagogy; feeling efficacious about teaching had a positive impact on teachers' experiences and student learning; teachers need to love reading and their students, teachers need to employ a variety of daily lessons, teaching fundamentals, and metacognitive strategies regularly; teachers should only use technology when beneficial to learning, how to motivate students; reading should be reiterated in other subject areas but is not; outside of the individual school and district, professional development is beneficial; home life greatly influences students' reading achievement levels; and how there are many other factors contributing to students' reading achievement levels. These findings may be used to improve students' reading achievement and reduce poverty levels through allowing for increased educational success, higher education opportunities, and job choices as well as decreased dropout rates. [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.]