Developmental researchers commonly utilize longitudinal data to decompose reciprocal and dynamic associations between repeatedly measured constructs to better understand the temporal precedence between constructs. Although the cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) is commonly used in developmental research, it has been criticized for its potential to…

Large Language Models have recently achieved high performance on many writing tasks. In a recent study, math word problems in Carnegie Learning's MATHia adaptive learning software were rewritten by human authors to improve their clarity and specificity. The randomized experiment found that emerging readers who received the rewritten word problems…

Composite scores are an exceptionally important psychometric tool for behavioral science research applications. A prototypical example occurs with self-report data, where researchers routinely use questionnaires with multiple items that tap into different features of a target construct. Item-level missing data are endemic to composite score…

In the complex world of educational policy, causal inferences will be debated. As we review non-experimental designs in educational policy, we focus on how to clarify and focus the terms of debate. We begin by presenting the potential outcomes/counterfactual framework and then describe approximations to the counterfactual generated from the…

Many seem to believe that researcher-made tests are unnecessary, if not inappropriate, for evaluating reading comprehension interventions. We suggest that this view reflects a zeitgeist in which researcher-made (proximal) tests that align with the researchers' interventions are closely scrutinized and often devalued, whereas commercially developed…

Panel data methods, which include difference-in-differences and comparative interrupted time series, have become increasingly com- mon in education policy research. The key idea is to use variation across time and space (e.g., school districts) to estimate the effects of policy or programmatic changes that happen in some localities but not others.…

Past research has yielded ample knowledge regarding the design of analytics-based tools for teachers and has found beneficial effects of several tools on teaching and learning. Yet there is relatively little knowledge regarding the design of tools that support teachers when a class of students uses AI-based tutoring software for self-paced…

Because creativity is an essential 21st century skill that must be developed in gifted and talented student populations, it is important for gifted and talented programs to nurture mathematical creativity. To shed light on this topic, this article explores three questions: What is mathematical creativity? How can we develop students' mathematical…

METRICS was a 5-year grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Education designed to immerse elementary school students in computer science. METRICS components included 1) creation and implementation of rigorous computer science curriculum units and assessments to support STEM coursework connected across all subjects through problem-based…

Spatial thinking permeates much of our lives and is an asset when solving problems involving well-structured visual information or imagining solutions in physical or digital space. However, an estimated three million US school children have spatial talents that go unrecognized because of the tools commonly used for identification of academic…

Family relationships play an essential role in adolescent development. When studying relationship domains (e.g., quality, conflict, communication), researchers typically rely on adolescents and their parents as informants. However, across research teams, domains, and measurement methods, researchers commonly observe discrepant estimates of family…

Children's understanding of fractions, including their symbols, concepts, and arithmetic procedures, is an important facet of both developmental research on mathematics cognition and mathematics education. Research on infants', children's, and adults' fraction and ratio reasoning allows us to test a range of proposals about the development of…

Analogies between old and new concepts are common during classroom instruction. Previous transfer studies focused on how features of initial learning guide later, spontaneous transfer to new problem solving. We argue for a shift in the focus of analogical-transfer research toward understanding how to best support analogical transfer from previous…

Research has demonstrated strong relations between spatial skill and mathematics across ages and in both typical and atypical populations, suggesting that a significant proportion of variance in mathematics performance can be explained by variance in spatial skill. Why do these relations exist and how do they develop? Studies of dimensionality in…

The scientific rigor of education research has improved dramatically since the year 2000. Much of the credit for this improvement is deserved by Institute of Education Sciences (IES) policies that helped create a demand for rigorous research; increased human capital capacity to carry out such work; provided funding for the work itself; and…