Comparing the Contexts of Middle-Grade Schools, Their Instructional Practices, and Their Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to describe an alternative means of estimating school effectiveness, referred to as an “absolute year” of schooling and demonstrate its usefulness as a measure of school effectiveness in the middle grades. More specifically, the study investigated (a) whether the absolute schooling effect in math and reading outcomes varied across a statewide sample of 53 secondary schools (e.g., middle, intermediate) and (b) whether differences in school variables explained the variability in the absolute-schooling effect.

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