Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Hare, R. Dwight

Committee Member

Lindley, Clyde

Committee Member

Davis, James E.

Committee Member

Scholtes, Tina

Date of Degree

8-11-2012

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Education Administration

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Educational Leadership

Abstract

Student achievement has become a main concern for schools in the United States. Emphasis has long been placed on reading, writing, and arithmetic; however, reading achievement remains insufficient. The passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001 required all students to be reading on grade level by 2014. With states and school districts striving to make adequate yearly progress, finding programs and practices that prove effective in improving student achievement has become a main priority for schools. In an effort to improve reading achievement, a reading program was implemented at Gauge Middle School and studied for its impact. The Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 (MCT2) and Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) tests were analyzed to determine the impact of the program. The voices of the students and the voices of the teachers were considered important in understanding the impact. The reasons for this research include (a) determining whether the implementation of READ 180 increased student reading achievement and (b) understanding the perceptions of the students and teachers in READ 180. A struggling reader is defined as a student who is experiencing difficulty learning to read. The literature on struggling readers indicated that a struggling reader will never read on grade level, but they can make increases in their reading level. The data obtained from this research supports the literature review. After the participating in READ 180, the MCT2 scores did not increase; however, the SRI scores did increase for all the students. Future research that replicates this study may be conducted with various grades and schools in Leese County School District to determine if the findings of the study can be duplicated. Also, research could address the age or grade at which to focus more intently on reading interventions. Students who are too low for READ 180 need an intervention or program. A high school reading intervention would benefit high school students and help reduce the dropout rate. Motivation and student behavior for middle and high school students requires more research.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19755

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