Opportunity-to-Learn Effects on Achievement: Analytical Aspects

The authors propose a set of methods for the analysis of opportunity to learn (OTL) in relation to achievement in large-scale educational assessments. The focus is on how to assess the effect of OTL on performance while taking prior performance and other background factors into account, also included are methods for combining OTL information and for studying the OTL sensitivity of test items. The methods are illustrated using the mathematics data from the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress and from the National Education Longitudinal Study. Implications for future large-scale educational assessments (in terms of test construction, scoring and reporting of the achievement components, and the need for better OTL measures) are discussed.