When designing a study for causal mediation analysis, it is crucial to conduct a power analysis to determine the sample size required to detect the causal mediation effects with sufficient power. However, the development of power analysis methods for causal mediation analysis has lagged far behind. To fill the knowledge gap, I proposed a…

New Hampshire's Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) innovative assessment system uses student scores from classroom performance assessments as well as other classroom tests for school accountability purposes. One concern is that not having annual state testing may incentivize schools and teachers away from teaching the breadth of…

Conditional process models, including moderated mediation models and mediated moderation models, are widely used in behavioral science research. However, few studies have examined approaches to conduct statistical power analysis for such models and there is also a lack of software packages that provide such power analysis functionalities. In this…

At least sixteen US states have taken steps toward holding teacher preparation programs (TPPs) accountable for teacher value-added to student test scores. Yet it is unclear whether teacher quality differences between TPPs are large enough to make an accountability system worthwhile. Several statistical practices can make differences between TPPs…

School discipline disproportionality has long been documented in educational research, primarily impacting Black/African American and non-White Hispanic/Latinx students. In response, federal policymakers have encouraged educators to change their disciplinary practice, emphasizing that more proactive support is critical to promoting students'…

This paper examines the scalability of the results from the Tennessee Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project, a prominent educational experiment. We explore how the misalignment between the experimental design and the econometric model affects researchers' ability to learn about the intervention's scalability. We document heterogeneity…

Objective: After the discontinuation of School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) in 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began exploring innovative ways to gather school health information using existing surveillance systems. School Health Profiles (Profiles) is a school-based system of surveys that monitors…

The present simulation study examined the statistical properties (namely, Type I error and statistical power) of various novel randomized single-case multiple-baseline designs and associated randomized-test analyses for comparing the A- to B-phase immediate abrupt outcome changes in two independent intervention conditions. It was found that with…

Using research focused on best practices, focus group information, and data analytics, the Title V: Focus on Student Success (FOSS) Grant created a model for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a summer bridge program. Results included increased academic performance indicators in first-year Hispanic college students. Validation for…

The purpose of this article is to provide researchers with a framework for promoting high quality mixed methods school-based consultation research. Furthermore, this article is intended for researchers and practitioners interested in evaluating their practice. To meet these objectives, we address quality criteria for quantitative (validity) and…

Multiple imputation (MI) is a popular method for handling missing data. In education research, it can be challenging to use MI because the data often have a clustered structure that need to be accommodated during MI. Although much research has considered applications of MI in hierarchical data, little is known about its use in cross-classified…

Since 1998, early childhood education and support services were funded by 50-cents-per-pack tobacco tax through Proposition 10 funding in California. In November, 2016, another proposal was endorsed by voters to add $2.00-per-pack tobacco tax for purposes unrelated to early childhood services, yet the decline of cigarette consumption will…

To support practitioners' need for reliable and valid measures of the youth camp experience, this study compares the results of two analytic approaches--(1) composite-based paired samples t tests and (2) a latent structural equation model approach--using the Parental Perceptions of Developmental Outcomes (PPDO) scale in a sample of 930 parents of…

Kindergarten has become increasingly academically oriented, and U.S. kindergarten teachers are increasingly called upon to implement policies that require assessment and promote accountability. However, little recent research has focused on kindergarten teachers' beliefs about kindergarten readiness. The authors examined teachers' beliefs related…

Contextual, identity, and cultural factors are not only associated with student outcomes but can also serve to moderate the effects of interventions. However, the conventional analysis of moderation commonly used in school psychology is subject to the selection bias potentially introducing bias into estimated moderator effects. This article…