| This study explores the outcomes of policy implementation from the perspective of the policy makers and the educators who are charged with implementation, specifically examining the decision-making process for district leaders during implementation. The study identifies the outcomes from the perspective of the policy-maker utilizing accountability measures, while examining the decision-making process by district leaders during implementation particularly focusing on doing what is "right" and what is "good" as defined by Strike (2008). The author provides an overview of Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee (TGRG). Ohio's TGRG is one of many literacy policy's in America that include retention as a consequence for students not able to demonstrate proficiency by the end of third grade. Quantitative and qualitative data provide a robust data set to inform the scholarship around policy and implementation from a dual perspective. The study reveals the statewide trends in reading proficiency in third grade did not change after implementation, only after a new type of assessment was administered during SY 15-16, resulting in a drastic decline in proficiency as assessed through high-stakes assessment. The K3 literacy measure, an accountability measure for schools and districts tied to Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee, had a significant negative correlation to student demographics across all three years of initial implementation. This study found one cohort of students placed on Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plans (RIMPs) in a local education agency (LEA), after being found not on track in third grade, and then promoted to fourth grade, were assessed as fourth graders and found still to be off track as assessed by the fall diagnostic. Interviews were conducted with six educational leaders from an LEA. Those interviewed were asked to reflect on the implementation of Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee and the decisions they tackled during implementation to ensure they acted as functionaries, focusing on what is "right" and "good" (Strike, 2008). The data set was evaluated utilizing Strike's (2008) work on ethical leadership and decision making. The author concludes the study with policy recommendations and considerations for those in K-12 Leadership. |
