Purpose: The primary aims of this study were to: (1) to describe average change in the writing quality of fifth grade students from the fall and spring of the school year; (2) examine relations between linguistic features and writing quality rating; and (3) test for differential growth between groups of students who differ in linguistic and…

Teacher value-added models (VAMs) must isolate teachers' contributions to student achievement to be valid. Well-known VAMs use different specifications, however, leaving policymakers with little clear guidance for constructing a valid model. We examine the sensitivity of teacher value-added estimates under different models based on whether they…

The achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and their traditional counterparts has continued to be a problem in education. Based on cognitive constructivist theory and enrichment theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between scores on a high-stakes achievement test and participation in a summer…