ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES OF SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS - COMPARISON OF MODEL STABILITY ACROSS YEARS

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of combinin g different test types (criterion-referenced and norm-referenced) in a composite school achievement score to be used in a model for school e ffectiveness classification. The cross-year stability and within-model consistency of the composite was compared to models using subcomposit e, overall scores for both the criterion referenced and norm-reference d tests, subject-area scores (across grades), grade-level scores, and component scores for each grade. Stability of the different models acr oss 2 years was determined by using the agreement ratio, kappa coeffic ient, and correlation of residuals (N = 361). The same statistical pro cedures were used to compute consistency across subsamples (N = 264). Results indicated that transforming and combining student-level scores of different test types, grade levels, and subject areas allows for a broader basis for judging schools and provides a school effectiveness model that is both consistent across subsamples and stable across yea rs.