Utilizing student mClass reading 3D assessment data to determine effective instructional practices among third-grade students in North Carolina

Abstract

Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind in 2001, high-stakes testing has become a mandatory practice across all 50 states. High-stakes testing is currently being used as a way to hold teachers and schools accountable for student success. In order to enforce these policies, the federal government has created sanctions that have serious implications for schools that are not making adequate yearly progress. In response, the North Carolina Department of Instruction created the Read to Achieve legislation, calling for various diagnostic measures that would allow students to demonstrate proficiency in literacy. Curriculum-based measurements (CBMs) like the mClass Reading 3D system have historically been used to measure student academic performance. The mClass Reading 3D program is an initial form of assessment at the beginning of the school year and is also used as a progress monitoring system. The data obtained from CBMs may influence a teacher's instructional practices and can impact student achievement. This study was guided by the following four research questions: 1. How do third-grade teachers in six rural North Carolina elementary schools use student mClass Reading 3D data to determine instructional practices that will best impact student achievement on the North Carolina End of Grade Assessment (NCEOG)? 2. What are the strategies, practices, and resources used as a result of the mClass Reading 3D data to provide instruction and support? 3. What other factors influence schools in determining the strategies, practices, and resources that are used to support student reading development? 4. Are there differences in instructional practices between schools that have exceeded growth on the NCEOG and schools that have not met growth on the NCEOG? Multi-site focus groups and interviews were conducted at six elementary schools in a large, rural public school district in North Carolina. Focus group sessions at each elementary school consisted of the school's third-grade classroom teachers, reading teachers and instructional coaches. Individual interviews were conducted with the principal. The data collected from this research was coded in order to find significant themes and generalizable results. The Burke-Litwin Causal Model of Change (Burke & Litwin, 1992) provided the theoretical lens that guided this study.