The purpose of this study was to compare two middle schools in one school district in south Texas to determine if presence or absence of instructional coaches has an effect on student achievement. The research design was a quantitative pre experimental study: a nonequivalent (posttest only) control group design in which the experimental group and the control group are selected without random assignment. While only the experimental group received the treatment, both groups were given a posttest, the Spring 2011 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test (TAKS) (Creswell, 2003). Comparisons were made between the two groups' performances in the area of student achievement. The scores for the two groups in the content areas of math and reading for 6th; math, reading and writing for 7th; and math, reading, science and social studies for 8th grade students, was analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) statistical analysis. Results of the study demonstrate that there are significant results associated with the presence or absence of instructional coaches in specific content areas at the two middle schools in the grades indicated, particularly in 6th grade math and reading, 7th grade writing and 8th grade science and social studies.