In 2017, reporters of national data in regard to reading ability among American, fourth grade students indicated low proficiency and achievement gaps. These results were also consistent within the state and district under study. There is a need to increase the focus on prekindergarten and primary grade education taking place prior to the grades in which federally mandated, accountability assessments for student learning take place. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential barriers to a paradigm shift at the state and district levels from a focus on state-assessed grade levels to prekindergarten and primary grade levels. The context of this study is a large public school district, the state in which it is located, and the federal education law under which both entities operate. My study demonstrates the gap in priorities between the state and local education leaders in regard to which grade levels should receive the majority of focus on an elementary school campus. I suggest the addition of quality measures for public prekindergarten and primary grade classrooms in order to improve professional development efforts and increase administrative focus.
","abstract_html":"<p>In 2017, reporters of national data in regard to reading ability among American, fourth grade students indicated low proficiency and achievement gaps. These results were also consistent within the state and district under study. There is a need to increase the focus on prekindergarten and primary grade education taking place prior to the grades in which federally mandated, accountability assessments for student learning take place. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential barriers to a paradigm shift at the state and district levels from a focus on state-assessed grade levels to prekindergarten and primary grade levels. The context of this study is a large public school district, the state in which it is located, and the federal education law under which both entities operate. My study demonstrates the gap in priorities between the state and local education leaders in regard to which grade levels should receive the majority of focus on an elementary school campus. I suggest the addition of quality measures for public prekindergarten and primary grade classrooms in order to improve professional development efforts and increase administrative focus.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lukas, Sarah Turner"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Stefanie Shames"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z","subjects":["prekindergarten","primary","assessment","elementary","professional development","quality measure","Adult and Continuing Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Education Economics","Elementary Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/442","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Stefanie Shames"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lukas, Sarah Turner"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-04-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["prekindergarten","primary","assessment","elementary","professional development","quality measure","Adult and Continuing Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Education Economics","Elementary Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/442"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In 2017, reporters of national data in regard to reading ability among American, fourth grade students indicated low proficiency and achievement gaps. These results were also consistent within the state and district under study. There is a need to increase the focus on prekindergarten and primary grade education taking place prior to the grades in which federally mandated, accountability assessments for student learning take place. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential barriers to a paradigm shift at the state and district levels from a focus on state-assessed grade levels to prekindergarten and primary grade levels. The context of this study is a large public school district, the state in which it is located, and the federal education law under which both entities operate. My study demonstrates the gap in priorities between the state and local education leaders in regard to which grade levels should receive the majority of focus on an elementary school campus. I suggest the addition of quality measures for public prekindergarten and primary grade classrooms in order to improve professional development efforts and increase administrative focus.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Primary Dilemma: Determining And Overcoming Barriers To A Focus On Prekindergarten Through Grade 3"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Stefanie Shames"],"dc:creator":["Lukas, Sarah Turner"],"dc:date.available":["2020-04-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In 2017, reporters of national data in regard to reading ability among American, fourth grade students indicated low proficiency and achievement gaps. These results were also consistent within the state and district under study. There is a need to increase the focus on prekindergarten and primary grade education taking place prior to the grades in which federally mandated, accountability assessments for student learning take place. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential barriers to a paradigm shift at the state and district levels from a focus on state-assessed grade levels to prekindergarten and primary grade levels. The context of this study is a large public school district, the state in which it is located, and the federal education law under which both entities operate. My study demonstrates the gap in priorities between the state and local education leaders in regard to which grade levels should receive the majority of focus on an elementary school campus. I suggest the addition of quality measures for public prekindergarten and primary grade classrooms in order to improve professional development efforts and increase administrative focus.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/442"],"dc:subject":["prekindergarten","primary","assessment","elementary","professional development","quality measure","Adult and Continuing Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Education Economics","Elementary Education"],"dc:title":["The Primary Dilemma: Determining And Overcoming Barriers To A Focus On Prekindergarten Through Grade 3"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z"}