Technical Brief

Technical Brief on the Statistical Model
Used in the 2001 Rhode Island School and District Reports (School Year 1999-2000)

Table of Contents
1. Purpose
2. Motivation
3. Achievement: A Three-Sided View
	3.1 Field 1: Achievement Results
	3.2 Field 2: The Statistical Model
	3.3 Field 4: Three-Year Breakdown of the Achievement Results
4. Predictors of Student Achievement
5. The Rhode Island Model
	5.1 The Outcome (Dependent) Variable
	5.2 The Explanatory (Independent) Variables
	5.3 A Glimpse into the Rhode Island Data
		5.3.1 Descriptive Analysis
		5.3.2 Creating the Poverty Index
		5.3.3 Correlation Analysis
		5.3.4 Hierarchical Regression Analysis
6. Predicting Individual School Performance

Appendix A: Statistical Definitions
	A1. Definition of a Variable
	A2. Descriptive Statistics
	A3. Correlation
	A4. Correlation vs. Causation
	A5. Statistical Significance
	A6. Simple Linear Regression
	A7. Multivariate Analysis
		A7.1 Multiple Regression
		A7.2 Stepwise Regression
		A7.3 Hierarchical Regression
Appendix B: Tables
	Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for Key Variables Used in the Model
	Table 2: Correlation between Explanatory Variables
	Table 3: Correlation Coefficients of Student Characteristics to Student Achievement
	Table 4: Regression Results


	Dennis Cheek, Director, Office of Research, High School Reform, and Adult Education, RI Department of Education, 255 Westminster St., Providence, RI 02903-3400; Adjunct Professor of Education, URI.
	Nina Kajiji, Assistant Professor of Research, Education. National Center on Public Education and Social Policy at the University of Rhode Island, 80 Washington St. Providence, RI 02903.
	Minsuk Shim, Assistant Professor, Education. National Center on Public Education and Social Policy at the University of Rhode Island, 80 Washington St. Providence, RI 02903.


	For further information call the Rhode Island Department of Education at 401-222-4600 x2231. Information Works! is produced in collaboration with the National Center on Public Education & Social Policy, Robert D. Felner, Ph.D., Director.