Superintendents of low income rural school district are challenged to close the achievement gap, specifically the disparity between classrooms. This study took the angle of looking at Equitable Classroom Practices and levels of rigor from classroom to classroom. The reasoning stems from the use of Job Embedded Professional Development for Instructional Rounds. The Literature pointed to using sustainable systems of professional development. Job Embedded Professional Development, such as Instructional Rounds was one way to incorporate professional development within contract hours. Equitable Classroom Practices and levels of rigor were found to be strong components to improving pupil outcomes among subgroups. The results of the quantitative and qualitative components indicated that the use of Instructional Rounds is an effective way to increase Equitable Classroom Practices and increase the level of rigor. The qualitative data results strongly supported Instructional Rounds as a Job Embedded Professional Development that increases Equitable Classroom Practices between grade level spans. The quantitative data results showed a marginal correlation between Instructional Rounds and Equitable Classroom Practices and levels of rigor. The lack of significant difference could be due to the small sample size and the short time frame in which the observations were conducted. Future research is necessary to test the generalizability to other school districts and populations of students. More observations over a longer time span will also increase the validity of the findings. [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.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]