| Maureen Hallinan
University of Notre Dame
Track effects on mathematics learning
FINAL REPORT:
Study 1: Curriculum Differentiation and High SchooI Achievement (Co-Author W.N. Kubitschek)
This paper links curriculum differentiation in secondary schools to student achievement through instructional, interpersonal and institutional processes. We argue that these processes operate differently across track and ability group levels. We use the NELS survey to analyze track effects and a longitudinal survey of ability grouping to examine ability group effects on student achievement. The results demonstrate that assignment to the Academic track or a higher level ability group accelerates growth in achievement while assignment to the Vocational track or a lower level ability group decelerates it. The findings underscore the power of organizational characteristics of schools to differentially affect student learning.
Study 2: Collinearity and Effect Size: "the" Effect of Track on Achievement (Co-Author W.N. Kubitschek)
The estimated effect of any factor can be highly dependent on both the model and the data used for the analyses. This paper presents an example of the estimated effect of one factor in two different data sets under three different forms of the standard linear model, using the effect of track placement on achievement as an example. Some relative advantages and disadvantages of each model are considered. Given collinearity among the predictor variables, the model with the poorest statistical fit of the three models considered may be the most useful for some interpretive purposes.
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