Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Mary Ellen Sapp
Committee Member
Charles Faires
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Claudia Santin
Keywords
academic achievement, archival data, diagnostic and prescriptive approach, elementary schools, FCAT, Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test, fourth grade, Grade 4, low-achieving students, Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary School, parent training, reading achievement, reading instruction, reading mastery, reading skills, reading tutorial, resource allocation, school improvement, student achievement, student performance, Sunshine State Standards Test, teacher education, teacher preparation, teacher training, Woodcock-Johnson Reading Mastery Test
Abstract
A disproportionate number of students in Grade 4 that attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary School scored at Levels I and II on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT) Reading sub-test. To increase the number of students scoring at or above Level III, the issue of teacher preparation in the area of reading instruction and the improvement of students’ reading skills were identified as factors that can impact student achievement as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT).
The purpose of this applied dissertation was to identify and implement successful teacher training and preparation programs, to review and revise current practices in reading instruction for students in Grades 1- 4, to implement an intensified reading tutorial program for low achieving students in Grade 4, and to offer a parent training program to enable parents to assist students at home. Archival data was utilized to determine student performance levels and achievement before and after the implementation of the treatment. The planned solution strategies included: (a) teacher training; (b) a diagnostic and prescriptive approach to reading instruction; (c) a revision of current practices related to reading instruction in Grades 1-4; and (d) the allocation of additional resources for use with low achieving students.
As a result of this project, student achievement levels in fourth grade met the State’s criteria of at least 50% of the students performing at or above academic achievement Level III on the FCAT Sunshine State Standards Test. In fourth grade, 53% of the total students scored at Levels III and above, exceeding the State’s criteria. The school’s letter grade, assigned by the state, also improved from a “C” to a “B.” Ten of the 15 students who participated in the intensified reading tutorial program increased their reading skills by at least one grade-level equivalent as measured by the Woodcock-Johnson Reading Mastery Test.