Date of Completion

5-2-2014

Embargo Period

5-2-2014

Keywords

fidelity of implementation, adolescent readers, reading achievement, student engagement, English/Language Arts curriculum, Tier I curriculum

Major Advisor

Melissa A. Bray

Associate Advisor

Michael Faggella-Luby

Associate Advisor

Lisa Sanetti

Associate Advisor

Thomas Kehle

Associate Advisor

Hariharan Swaminathan

Field of Study

Educational Psychology

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

As many scholars have noted, the educational system in the United States is entrenched in a literacy crisis (e.g., Boardman et al., 2008; Haynes, 2005; Moje et al., 2008; Torgesen et al., 2007). Lee, Grigg, and Donahue (2007) found that approximately two-thirds of both eighth- and twelfth-graders read below proficiency and lack the reading skills needed to succeed in school. With the national movement towards a Response to Intervention (RTI) context of identifying and intervening with struggling learners, the Tier I general education classroom is the first line of defense in preventing and intervening with literacy difficulties. Proponents of RTI believe that comprehensive and coordinated instruction that is implemented with fidelity can improve outcomes for all students. However, fidelity has not been clearly defined in the literature, and has historically received less attention in the K-12 education literature (Ruiz-Primo, 2005; Summerfelt, 2003). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between teachers’ fidelity to an English Language Arts curriculum and student outcomes on measures of reading achievement. An observational tool was constructed to record the fidelity of implementation to a middle school English/Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. Results indicated that students’ reading scores increased as the time teachers spent delivering ELA instruction (dosage) increased. Additionally, the more time spent in independent practice in classrooms, the less engaged students were in instruction. Limitations to statistical power, the representativeness of the sample, and the observational tool created for the study are important to consider when interpreting the results of this study.

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