The purpose of this study was to describe third grade teachers' reports of their instructional decision-making (Deno & Mirkin, 1977) for students who are at-risk for poor reading outcomes. The conceptual framework guiding this study was Deno and Mirkin's (2003) model of instructional decision-making. One data source served this study. Specifically the Instructional Decision Making in Reading Questionnaire ([IDMRQ]; Murdica, 2011), a researcher developed self-report questionnaire was used to gather information from teachers about their instructional decision-making practices in the area of reading.

Thirty-eight Grade 3 teachers from urban settings in a Northeastern state completed the IDMRQ (Murdica, 2011), an Internet-based survey. The IDMRQ survey was designed to measure the frequency of respondents' instructional decision-making practices (Deno & Mirkin, 1977) across five scales in the framework, as well as overall use of all practices.

Data analysis revealed that urban third grade teachers in this study reported moderate to high levels of use for the five components of Deno and Mirkin's model, when working with those students at-risk for poor reading outcomes. Notably, the model components that contain proportionately more practices related to complex data analysis such as making decisions about student progress and instruction were reported as used less often.