Persistent racial disparities in English Language Arts (ELA) achievement remain a critical challenge in secondary education, particularly for Black students. This mixed-methods study examined the reading proficiency gap between Black and White students in Grades 9 and 10 on the state under study’s reading assessment. The purpose was to identify effective instructional strategies, necessary resources, and implementation processes to reduce the gap and ensure sustainability. Findings indicated that culturally responsive instruction, targeted intervention, and data-informed instructional coaching improved student engagement and reading performance. However, inconsistent implementation and limited early literacy foundations remained significant barriers. Recommendations include strengthening professional learning communities, prioritizing fidelity of implementation, and aligning resources to support sustained, equity-focused literacy improvement.
","abstract_html":"<p>Persistent racial disparities in English Language Arts (ELA) achievement remain a critical challenge in secondary education, particularly for Black students. This mixed-methods study examined the reading proficiency gap between Black and White students in Grades 9 and 10 on the state under study’s reading assessment. The purpose was to identify effective instructional strategies, necessary resources, and implementation processes to reduce the gap and ensure sustainability. Findings indicated that culturally responsive instruction, targeted intervention, and data-informed instructional coaching improved student engagement and reading performance. However, inconsistent implementation and limited early literacy foundations remained significant barriers. Recommendations include strengthening professional learning communities, prioritizing fidelity of implementation, and aligning resources to support sustained, equity-focused literacy improvement.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Brown, Alana"],"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. Lorrie Butler"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2026-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:46Z","subjects":["English Language Arts","Equity","Achievement Gap","Racial Disparity","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/985","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Lorrie Butler"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Brown, Alana"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-05-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"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":["English Language Arts","Equity","Achievement Gap","Racial Disparity","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/985"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Persistent racial disparities in English Language Arts (ELA) achievement remain a critical challenge in secondary education, particularly for Black students. This mixed-methods study examined the reading proficiency gap between Black and White students in Grades 9 and 10 on the state under study’s reading assessment. The purpose was to identify effective instructional strategies, necessary resources, and implementation processes to reduce the gap and ensure sustainability. Findings indicated that culturally responsive instruction, targeted intervention, and data-informed instructional coaching improved student engagement and reading performance. However, inconsistent implementation and limited early literacy foundations remained significant barriers. Recommendations include strengthening professional learning communities, prioritizing fidelity of implementation, and aligning resources to support sustained, equity-focused literacy improvement.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Evaluating Equity in 9th and 10th Grade ELA Instruction"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Lorrie Butler"],"dc:creator":["Brown, Alana"],"dc:date.available":["2026-05-26T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Persistent racial disparities in English Language Arts (ELA) achievement remain a critical challenge in secondary education, particularly for Black students. This mixed-methods study examined the reading proficiency gap between Black and White students in Grades 9 and 10 on the state under study’s reading assessment. The purpose was to identify effective instructional strategies, necessary resources, and implementation processes to reduce the gap and ensure sustainability. Findings indicated that culturally responsive instruction, targeted intervention, and data-informed instructional coaching improved student engagement and reading performance. However, inconsistent implementation and limited early literacy foundations remained significant barriers. Recommendations include strengthening professional learning communities, prioritizing fidelity of implementation, and aligning resources to support sustained, equity-focused literacy improvement.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/985"],"dc:subject":["English Language Arts","Equity","Achievement Gap","Racial Disparity","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership"],"dc:title":["Evaluating Equity in 9th and 10th Grade ELA Instruction"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:46Z"}