Abstract
Purpose. The primary purpose of this study was to identify reading comprehension strategies used by teachers of Grade 4 in schools with an academic performance index (API) score of 800 or above in English Language Arts reading achievement to determine the impact on students' reading comprehension over a period of 3 consecutive years; compared to strategies used by teachers of Grade 4 in schools with an API of 700 or less during 2003-06. Methodology. Quantitative Descriptive was the research method used in this study to identify and compare reading comprehension strategies used by teachers in schools with an API of 800 or above and schools with an API of 700 and less in English Language Arts reading achievement. The study sample consisted of 97 fourth-grade teachers who taught at 57 elementary schools in five counties located in Central California. Findings. Fourth-grade teachers' choice to implement the following reading comprehension strategies: Metacognition, Direct Instruction/Explanation, and Transactional, to a lesser degree, resulted in greater academic gains on the California Standards Test in English Language Arts Reading Comprehension, as reflected in schools with an API of 800 or above. Conclusions. Elementary school principals and their staffs should explore the academic benefits of identification and implementation of effective reading comprehension strategies at their school sites. The findings of this study suggest that specific reading strategies used by teachers in identified selected fourth-grade classrooms can impact students' reading comprehension in English Language Arts and increase their reading achievement. Recommendations for further research. (1) Replicate this study with a larger sample of fourth-grade teachers to confirm the academic benefits of identification and implementation of effective reading comprehension strategies. (2) Conduct a study about the degree to which elementary school principals use English Language Arts reading comprehension data from the California State Tests to enhance reading achievement and increase the schools' overall API score.