Date of Award

Fall 10-29-2013

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Department

Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Advisor

Barbara Strobert, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Michael Osnato, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Elaine Walker, Ph.D.

Keywords

Scripted Reading Instruction

Abstract

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) transformed the system of accountability for schools in the United States by implementing high stakes consequences for poor performance on standardized tests. Scripted curriculum has become a common practice as a means to prepare students to achieve the academic standards measured by standardized tests. The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to explore teachers’ evaluation of the scripted Reading Street program and the implementation of the sub-scale components of this curriculum within their classrooms in one New Jersey urban district. This study was conducted to determine whether there were challenges or issues and a significant level of consistency between teacher satisfaction of the Reading Street program in the areas of planning, training and support; planning and scheduling; materials; curriculum and content; differentiated instruction; connections; and outcomes.

Data collection was completed through the use of Google Docs. On March 18, 2013, teachers were emailed a link to the Likert-scale survey and were given two weeks to respond. Follow up open-ended surveys were emailed to the same population of second through fifth grade teachers on April 24, 2013. This study used a mixed-methods approach using survey research. A non-probability sampling method was used; specifically, convenience sampling. The researcher constructed, piloted, and validated the instrument. The first Reading Street survey consisted of 34 Likert-scale questions and one open-ended question. The follow-up Reading Street survey consisted of 12 open-ended questions and two demographic questions, which included years of experience and grade taught. Both surveys were administered to the sample population (n=106), which consisted of second through fifth grade public school teachers.

The results of the study revealed that all scales except planning, training, and support were rated positively by respondents. Second through fifth grade teachers were found not to have received sufficient support prior to and during the course of implementing the Reading Street program throughout the school year.

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