This article presents methods for using extant data to improve the properties of estimators of the standardized mean difference (SMD) effect size. Because samples recruited into education research studies are often more homogeneous than the populations of policy interest, the variation in educational outcomes can be smaller in these samples than…

This article presents methods for using extant data to improve the properties of estimators of the standardized mean difference (SMD) effect size. Because samples recruited into education research studies are often more homogeneous than the populations of policy interest, the variation in educational outcomes can be smaller in these samples than…

There was a fundamental reform of special educational needs policy in Scotland with the ratification of the 2004 Education (Additional Support for Learning) (ASL) (Scotland) Act. This paper explores official statistics from 2008-2023 by examining variations in additional support needs (ASN) and funding across the 32 Local Authorities (LAs). The…

Recent trends in higher education have increased interest in improving accountability in U.S. higher education beyond current accreditation practices. Many proposed solutions include using quantitative-performance measures like graduation and default rates to assess performance, but questions remain about how such a system could fit-in with…

Many education policies require estimating whether students in different grades are on track for achieving certain educational standards. One approach for constructing these cut scores is to estimate the values on tests that predict reaching targets on subsequent tests. Whether a student is deemed on target can affect the student's course…

We use a natural experiment to evaluate sample selection correction methods' performance. In 2007, Michigan began requiring that all students take a college entrance exam, increasing the exam-taking rate from 64 to 99%. We apply different selection correction methods, using different sets of predictors, to the pre-policy exam score data. We then…

This paper describes and demonstrates a new online resource developed to help researchers proactively plan for student attrition: the Student Attrition Lookup Tool (SALT). With SALT, researchers can access student mobility estimates for different student and school subpopulations and for different transition periods from kindergarten to grade 12.…

Within the Higher Education sector in the UK, it is acknowledged that the area of 'Assessment and Feedback' receives consistently poor levels of satisfaction from students when they complete module level feedback, course level feedback and the National Student Survey (NSS). There is evidence to suggest that this problem is pronounced within…

Financial aid administrators administer various aspects of financial assistance programs; oversee, direct, coordinate, evaluate, and provide training for program activities and the personnel who manage office operations and supervise support staff; and ensure alignment of student and institutional needs while protecting the public interest. They…

Drawing on a secondary analysis of official statistics, this paper examines the changing scale of the inequality of achievement between White students and their Black British peers who identify their family heritage as Black Caribbean. We examine a 25-year period from the introduction of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), in…

Assessing a student's level and rate of improvement on an academic skill is a contemporary approach to the identification of specific learning disabilities. This approach, broadly categorized as responsiveness to intervention, however, does not obviate educators from scrutinizing the psychometric qualities of the data used to make important…

Randomized experiments are considered the gold standard for causal inference because they can provide unbiased estimates of treatment effects for the experimental participants. However, researchers and policymakers are often interested in using a specific experiment to inform decisions about other target populations. In education research,…

Ensuring internal validity in quantitative research requires, among other conditions, reliable instrumentation. Unfortunately, however, second language (L2) researchers often fail to report and even more often fail to interpret reliability estimates beyond generic benchmarks for acceptability. As a means to guide interpretations of such estimates,…

We used existing reading (n = 1,498) and math (n = 2,260) data to evaluate state test scores for screening middle school students. In Phase 1, state test data were used to create a research-derived cut score that was optimal for predicting state test performance the following year. In Phase 2, those cut scores were applied with future cohorts.…

In 2 experiments, eye tracking methodology was used to assess on-line lexical, syntactic and semantic processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In Experiment 1, lexical identification was examined by manipulating the frequency of target words. Both typically developed (TD) and ASD readers showed normal frequency effects, suggesting that the…