Teacher instructional practices are considered amongst the main determinants of student achievement (Cordero & Gil-Izquierdo, 2018). Moreover, depending on the practices used, teachers can either weaken or promote student achievement (Caro et al., 2016; Hwang et al., 2018). Since student achievement is positively related to teacher practices, the impact of different instructional practices on student achievement represents a topic of great relevance for educational equity (Le Donné et al., 2016). This study explores the prevalence of different instructional practices in classrooms and their association with students’ reading achievements, focusing on the 2018 PISA results in Kosovo. Drawing on a dataset of 3,906 students, the research employs exploratory factor analysis to identify three latent variables representing student-centered instruction: individualized learning instructional practices (ILIP), research-based instructional practices (RBIP), and feedback-oriented institutional practices (FOIP). The study aims to answer two main research questions: (1) Which teacher instructional practices are prevalent among teachers in Kosovo classrooms? (2) How do students of different reading proficiency levels perceive ILIP and FOIP, and is there a significant difference in reading performance among students exposed to different instructional practices? Results indicate that ILIP is the most prevalent instructional practice, followed by FOIP and RBIP. Students predominantly report occasional or minimal exposure to ILIP and FOIP. The study also reveals a negative correlation between ILIP and RBIP with FOIP, suggesting a potential trade-off between student-centered and teacher-oriented practices. Benchmarking analyses demonstrate an equal distribution of students across FOIP and ILIP categories based on reading scores, indicating that exposure alone does not guarantee higher performance. However, RBIP stands out, showing a positive correlation with better reading scores, even at low exposure levels. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on educational equity by examining the relationship between teaching practices and student outcomes in Kosovo's education system. The findings underscore the importance of considering various instructional practices in the pursuit of equitable education and inform policy discussions around teacher professional development. The study emphasizes the need for continued efforts to align teaching practices with the goals of the education reform implemented in Kosovo, fostering a student-centered approach to enhance reading performance and reduce achievement gaps.

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