Date

8-20-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Ashleigh Wojslawowicz

Keywords

Mathematics achievement, students with disabilities, universal design for learning (UDL), inclusive elementary education, predictive correlational study

Disciplines

Elementary Education | Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

This quantitative, non-experimental, predictive correlational study examined the extent to which student disability status and mathematics instructional pedagogy predicted fourth-grade mathematics performance in inclusive elementary classrooms. Persistent mathematics achievement gaps between students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers highlight the need to identify instructional and student-level predictors of academic outcomes. The sample consisted of 109 fourth-grade students from inclusive elementary classrooms in a large southeastern public school district. Mathematics performance was measured using the Winter i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment for Mathematics scores. In contrast, instructional pedagogy was measured using a validated teacher self-report survey assessing alignment with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Data was collected through district records and analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results indicated that disability status was a statistically significant predictor of mathematics performance, whereas UDL-aligned versus non-UDL instructional pedagogy was not a significant predictor of standardized mathematics scores. Findings suggest that although UDL may support instructional access and engagement, it may not independently predict standardized mathematics achievement. Recommendations for future research include examining instructional fidelity, additional contextual predictors, and longitudinal or mixed method approaches to inclusive mathematics achievement.

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