This study used the ECLS-K to examine the contextual influences of parent involvement on children's achievement growth in reading and math during elementary grades. The study used Rasch models and HLM measurement models to develop reliable and valid constructs of parent involvement both at the student and at the school level. Piecewise linear growth models were then used to longitudinally examine how parent involvement measured at the school level is associated with children's achievement growth. Propensity score-based methods were additionally used to better address the problem of selection bias. The analyses found that school-based parent involvement had generally weak and nonsignificant collective effects on both reading and math growth. Where significance was detected, the direction of the effect was negative. However, when it comes to individual level effects, school-based involvement was largely a strong, positive predictor of children's initial reading and math scores and subsequent growth during the primary grades. The findings obtained in this study thus do not lend any support to the idea that parent involvement in school might create public benefits for the entire school community. Instead, the findings highlight the importance of parent involvement as a private good, showing that the benefits of school-based involvement are confined to only students whose parents are actually involved. Further, the presence of small evidence of the negative collective effect of school-based involvement suggests that parent involvement might be considered as having a negative public good aspect because it produces harm for uninvolved parents and their children. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]