In Whiteville City Schools, beginning third grade students have a reading achievement
gap as evidenced by students who score Level 3 or 4 on the Third Grade Pre-Test.
Historically, the largest gap has been between African American males and White females. The
achievement gap also extends to a gap in mathematics proficiency. In addition to having
achievement gaps by race and gender, overall third grade students in Whiteville City Schools
have proficiency levels that are lower that the state average and lower than those of comparable
local schools. This thesis reports on an effort to close and eventually eliminate the achievement
gap and raise proficiency overall; specifically, at the primary school, Direct Instruction was
implemented as the reading program. Direct Instruction has proven successful as an effective
method of instructing all children, particularly African American, in reading. The research has
shown that success in reading is effective in closing achievement gaps. Findings show that, after
adopting Direct Instruction at this one school, student achievement and proficiency increased
and the achievement gap closed
