Working paper
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
Do studentsā social-emotional learning (SEL) skills in middle school predict being off-track to graduate high school?
By: James Soland, Megan Kuhfeld
Topics: Growth modeling, Social-emotional learning
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
In this study, multivariate models that jointly estimate growth in achievement and self-efficacy during middle school are used to see how underlying developmental processes relate for ELLs.
By: James Soland
Topics: English Language Learners, Equity, Social-emotional learning
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
Reconciling long-term education policy goals with short-term school accountability models
Schools are increasingly held accountable for their contributions to studentsā academic growth in math and reading. Under The Every Student Succeeds Act, most states are estimating how much schools improve student achievement over time and using those growth metrics to identify the bottom 5% of schools for remediation.
Topics: Measurement & scaling, Growth modeling, Student growth & accountability policies
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
In this study, we apply the Compound Polynomial or āCPā model in a school evaluation context. The CP model addresses the seasonality of student test scores by simultaneously estimating between- and within-year growth.
Topics: Growth modeling, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss, Student growth & accountability policies
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
The relationship between test-taking disengagement and performance on MAP Growth retests
Educators sometimes ask: do students rapidly guess because they donāt know the answer to a question, or do rapid guesses reflect a lack of engagement with the test? Would a studentās scores improve if that student engaged more with the assessment and rapidly guessed on fewer items? Examining MAPĀ® Growthā¢ test scores and levels of student test engagement for over 100,000 tests for which students retested within one day, the results showed that studentsā test taking engagement often differed between the initial test and the retest.
By: Steven Wise
Topics: School & test engagement
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
Trends in childrenās academic skills at school entry: 2010 ā 2017
This study examines academic skills at kindergarten entry from 2010 and 2017 using data from over 2 million kindergarten students. Results indicated kindergarteners in 2017 have slightly lower math and reading skills than in 2010, but that inequalities at school entry by race/ethnicity and school poverty level have decreased during this period.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, James Soland, Christine Pitts, Margaret Burchinal
Topics: Equity, Early learning
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
![](https://www.nwea.org/uploads/2020/03/Working-paper-purple.png)
In this study, we examine seasonal patterns of racial/ethnic achievement gaps in kindergarten through eighth grade using a national sample of over two million students.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, Dennis Condron, Douglas Downey