Archived

This content is available here for research, reference, and/or recordkeeping.

Author ORCID Identifier

https:/orcid.org/0009-0009-9697-3408

Date Available

4-30-2026

Year of Publication

2026

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

Education

Department/School/Program

Educational Leadership Studies

Faculty

Justin M. Bathon

Faculty

John B. Nash

Abstract

This qualitative embedded multiple-case study examined how school-level literacy leadership shaped the coherence and use of literacy assessment systems in five Mississippi Elementary Schools. Situated within the context of Mississippi’s recent literacy gains and the policy environment emerging from the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, this study explored how literacy leaders guide assessment systems to support coherence between literacy instruction and assessment practice.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 educators across five elementary schools in different districts. Analysis was conducted using descriptive and values coding organized into an analysis matrix that facilitated within-case and cross-case exploration of patterns in distributed literacy leadership, assessment system structure, and the relationship between literacy knowledge and assessment practice.

Five findings emerged across the cases. School literacy leaders managed external assessment demands from both state and district levels with inconsistent capacity to bridge those demands into a coherent, school-level assessment framework. Literacy leadership distribution was largely unintentional, with knowledge and expertise determining who led rather than deliberate design. School structures prioritized assessments connected to accountability over those most impactful to literacy growth. Data-informed literacy instruction was primarily an isolated teacher practice rather than a result of coherent literacy systems. Finally, a collaboration and informed interdependence determined the level of system-wide coherence and assessment alignment.

These findings suggest that coherence in literacy assessment practice depends not simply on the distribution of leadership, but on its intentional design. Principals who actively connected external mandates and supports to internal school structures were better positioned to support system-level coherence. Statewide literacy guidance can establish a macro structure for literacy assessment systems, but equitable and instructionally meaningful use of assessment requires leaders with the literacy knowledge to intentionally contribute expertise in creating school structures, defining literacy leadership roles, and facilitating collaborative conditions that enable teachers to connect assessment data directly to instructional practice.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2026.184

Archival?

Archival

Download

Share

COinS