Evaluates three strategies for controlling input-level ability differences in research utilizing ability test performance for evaluating school effectiveness: (1) longitudinal, predetermined ability measures; (2) cross-sectional, endogenous ability measures; and (3) socioeconomic measures as proxies for ability. (Author/GC)

School context constrains and supports field researchers' data collection activities, just as it can influence the educational change processes being studied. For outsiders, the accessibility of a school is affected by a number of factors. These influence findings and have implications for achieving data comparability across several sites.…

Statewide assessment data available from two school years, two grade levels, and five sources (achievement tests; student, principal, and teacher questionnaires; and principal interviews), were aggregated to more closely investigate the relationship between student/school characteristics and student achievement. To organize this large number of…