A Multilevel, Longitudinal Analysis of Middle School Math and Language Achievement

The performance of schools in a large urban school district was examined using achievement data from a longitudinally matched cohort of middle school students. Schools were evaluated in terms of the mean achievement and mean growth of students in mathematics and language arts. Application of multilevel, longitudinal models to student achievement data revealed that 1) school performance varied across both outcome measures in both subject areas, 2) significant proportions of variation were associated with school-to-school differences in performance, 3) evaluations of school performance differed depending on whether school mean achievement or school mean growth in achievement was examined, and 4) school mean achievement was a weak predictor of school mean growth. These