This study addressed the following research questions: (1) Will there be a statistically significant difference between the reading achievement scores of eleventh-grade students who received instruction implementing popular culture as an advance organizer for literature and the scores of the students who did not? (2) What are the perceptions of eleventh-grade students regarding popular culture as an advance organizer for literature?

To answer these questions, the study used a quasi-experimental non-randomized pretest-posttest comparison group research design. The independent variable was the type of language arts curriculum employed; the dependent variable was reading achievement as measured by an eleventh-grade language arts course exam designed to assess the comprehension of specific literary works and the ability to analyze literary elements within those works. The qualitative component described student perceptions of the popular culture curriculum through observations, focus groups, and an informal questionnaire. The participants were drawn from the population of eleventh-grade students in a Division-5A suburban high school who were eligible to attend regular language arts classes, which included Special Education and English Language Learners.

Analysis of covariance procedures were used to determine whether a statistical significance existed in the difference between the posttest scores of the Experimental and Comparison Groups. The results from the questionnaire were reported as descriptive statistics that illustrate the mean responses for each item. Field notes and transcribed material from the focus groups were reviewed in an attempt to look for patterns, consistencies, or other relevant information regarding student attitudes toward both the popular culture and traditional curricula.

The results of this study suggest that using popular culture as an advance organizer for literature may be no more effective to improve reading achievement than using traditional advance organizers. However, the ethnographic data indicates that the vast majority of eleventh-grade students perceive the use of popular culture in the classroom as enjoyable and academically beneficial, which may have a positive impact on motivation to read and learn.