The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine elementary teachers' understanding of guided reading within a first-year implementation. The researcher conducted a survey and employed both a qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The convergent parallel design of this study allowed for a simultaneous analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. The researcher employed a series of correlations to examine the relationships of the variables included in this study. Findings revealed a need to clarify important practices of the guided reading approach. Areas of guided reading in need of support included: texts used, grouping methods, scheduling time for guided reading, and assessments used in guided reading. Information from the analyses was used in a performance evaluation to inform support needs for schools. Guided reading, nestled in the balanced literacy framework, provides differentiated instruction to optimize student growth. As new school accountability measures focus on the growth of all students, guided reading provides an instructional context enabling differentiation to occur. A new to district implementation of guided reading provided the need of a program evaluation to be conducted. The findings of the study informed the program evaluation of teachers' knowledge of guided reading and the areas of guided reading in need of further support. [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.]