Opportunity to Learn Analysis
Opportunity to learn (OTL) analysis measures the degree to which students are actually taught the content on which they are assessed, and relates that exposure to their achievement. Rooted in Carroll's 1963 model of school learning and developed as both a research concept and a policy instrument by McDonnell (1995) and the international IEA assessments, it treats content coverage, instructional time, and the alignment between the enacted curriculum and the tested curriculum as measurable conditions of learning rather than properties of the learner.
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Sources
- McDonnell, L. M. (1995). Opportunity to learn as a research concept and a policy instrument. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 17(3), 305–322. DOI: 10.3102/01623737017003305 ↗
- Carroll, J. B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64(8), 723–733. DOI: 10.1177/016146816306400801 ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Measurement and Analysis. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/education/opportunity-to-learn-analysis
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
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