African American male third graders in U.S Title I schools frequently fail to read on grade level. However, in three Title I schools in East Texas, this demographic demonstrated exceptionally high reading ability. This explanatory case study investigated the instructional strategies and practices linked to high reading achievement for these students. The study is grounded in Ladson-Billings’s theory of culturally relevant pedagogy and supported by Vygotsky’s theory of social and cognitive constructivism. The research questions were used to examine the instructional strategies and practices used on each campus that may have resulted in such high reading achievement. This study engenders a deeper understanding of effective instructional reading strategies and practices for African American boys at the elementary level.

Today's mathematics educators are advocating methods of assessment other than frequent tests, quizzes, and daily worksheets. In fact, the NCTM's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards states,“The assessment of students' ability to communicate mathematics should provide evidence that they can express mathematical ideas by speaking, writing, demonstrating and depicting them visually” (1989, 214). One alternative form of assessment that incorporates these standards is journal writing