Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Sergio Guzman

Committee Member

Dian Moorhouse

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

ANOVA, archival student data, causal-comparative study, de-identified data, elementary education, Grades 3 to 5, instructional intensity, intervention practices, I-Ready Reading Diagnostic, linear regression, Nova Southeastern University, quantitative research, reading achievement, reading performance, reading scores, Response to Intervention (RTI), rural elementary schools, social promotion, socially promoted students, standardized reading assessment

Abstract

This applied dissertation examined reading achievement among socially promoted elementary students in Grades 3 to 5 by investigating the relationship between Response to Intervention (RTI) participation and Spring I-Ready Reading Diagnostic scaled scores. Although RTI is widely implemented as a multi-tiered framework to provide targeted instructional support for struggling readers, limited research has examined reading outcomes among socially promoted students in rural elementary schools using standardized reading assessment measures.

This quantitative, non-experimental, causal-comparative study analyzed secure, de-identified archival student data obtained following approval from the Nova Southeastern University Institutional Review Board and authorization from school district personnel. The study included socially promoted students in Grades 3 to 5 with documented RTI participation status and Spring I-Ready Reading Diagnostic scaled scores during the selected academic years.

Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarize the characteristics of the sample. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine differences in Spring I-Ready Reading Diagnostic scaled scores between students who participated in RTI and those who did not participate in RTI. Simple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which RTI participation predicted Spring I-Ready Reading Diagnostic scaled scores.

The findings indicated that RTI participation was associated with differences in reading performance among socially promoted students across most grade-level and calendar-year comparisons. Students participating in RTI generally demonstrated lower Spring I-Ready Reading Diagnostic scaled scores than students who did not participate in RTI. These findings highlight the importance of continued evaluation of intervention practices, instructional intensity, and resources to better understand and support the reading needs of socially promoted elementary students.

Download
Share Feedback

Share

COinS