Important educational policy decisions, like whether to shorten or extend the school year, often require accurate estimates of how much students learn during the year. Yet, related research relies on a mostly untested assumption: that growth in achievement is linear throughout the entire school year. We examine this assumption using a data set containing math and reading test scores for over seven million students in kindergarten through 8th grade across the fall, winter, and spring of the 2016-17 school year. Our results indicate that assuming linear within-year growth is often not justified, particularly in reading. Implications for investments in extending the school year, summer learning loss, and racial/ethnic achievement gaps are discussed.
The learning curve: Revisiting the assumption of linear growth across the school year
Keywords
academic growth; standardized testing; growth modeling
Topics
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/bvg0-8g17
EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:
Kuhfeld, Megan, and James Soland. (). The learning curve: Revisiting the assumption of linear growth across the school year. (EdWorkingPaper: -214). Retrieved from
Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/bvg0-8g17Related Resources from the EdExchange
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