Access Type

Open Access Dissertation

Date of Award

January 2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ed.D.

Department

Educational Leadership and Policy

First Advisor

Ben Pogodzinski

Abstract

Research suggests that school leaders’ understanding and process of making sense of educational reform policies and/or laws is shaped by social, organizational, individual factors. This understanding can impact how a school leader understands and interprets the law/policy and ultimately may impact implementation actions. In 2016, Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law was enacted into law, which requires districts to identify struggling readers and provide tiered reading intervention for those students requiring additional support. Furthermore, the law also outlines mandatory eligible retention for students achieving below the pre-determined cut-score on the annually administered Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M STEP) assessment. A qualitative single instrumental case study utilizing semi-structured interviews and document analysis was used to investigate to explore how school leaders and key personnel in a suburban Michigan school district understand and make sense of Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law and how this interpretation sets forth district actions. Findings in this study suggest that the participants revealed a multi-layered approach to understanding this law bolstered by helpful sources of information such as the Michigan Department of Education, local ISD, professional organizations, colleagues in neighboring districts, and their in-district colleagues. Although participants felt the law initially lacked the funding necessary to implement many of the components of the law, such as the intensification of tiered literacy supports for students as well as curriculum and training that aligned with a science of reading approach, participants also reflected and identified positive outcomes related to this law. These positive changes or outcomes were related to increased parent communication/partnership, a change to district literacy assessments that yielded data which informed tiered instruction and support for each student, and the development of a more robust multi-tiered system of support for students. Participants perceived the retention component of Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law as punitive and disproportionately impactful to students of color and/or economically disadvantaged students. Furthermore, the participants perceived the considerable efforts by district staff to explore good cause exemption options for students eligible for retention as a way to mitigate the negative impact of this law and the negative effects of retention.

Download

Share

COinS