Providing academic assistance to English Language Learners (ELLs) is varied and often ineffective. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to determine if there was a relationship between 9th grade students' performance on the High School Graduation Exam (HSGE) in reading and language and the Push-in and Pull-out models of instruction. Guided by Cummin's theory, which holds that there is a common underlying proficiency between languages, archived data were collected from 106 9th grade ELL students over a 1 month period using the HSGE score sheets. An exploratory data analysis was implemented to compute descriptive statistics for each comparison group and 2 "t" tests of statistical significance were conducted. Results indicate that there was no significant difference by instructional model type in ELL performance on the HSGE in either reading or language. A project was designed in the form of professional development training for school district teachers to explore research-based interventions that align with state and district standards. These trainings will assist teachers in developing skills and expanding knowledge that will provide them with a better understanding of how to assess an ELL's language development. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]