The impact of a media literacy education plan on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) reading scores of 9th and 10th grade students

This study investigated the impact of a media literacy education plan on the Reading test scores of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) at an urban high school in Central Florida. A team of 9th and 10th grade teachers created a professional learning community and developed a treatment to enhance language arts instruction with various forms of media. This media literacy education plan included four lessons utilizing media such as television commercials, magazine photographs and the Internet; the lessons were taught during the four months leading to the administration of the 2007 FCAT.;Data were gathered from the 2006 and 2007 FCAT scores of students in a control and treatment group. Using these pre test and post test data, statistical analysis comprised two independent t-tests and one repeated measures ANOVA. The data revealed statistical significance at the 9th and 10 th grade level, but did not show statistical significance at any particular reading level (Levels 1-5).;Implications from this study included strong professional learning communities produce effective teachers and that student achievement increases when a media literacy education plan is included in ELA instruction. Furthermore, this study illustrates the need to embrace modern media as viable classroom instructional tools. Recommendations were made for further research utilizing different materials, different forms of media, different student populations. This study also concluded that further qualitative research be conducted. Ultimately, this study makes a strong argument for the inclusion of media and media literacy education in the secondary English Language Arts classroom.