Well-designed digital games can deliver powerful experiences that are difficult to provide through traditional instruction, while traditional instruction can deliver formal explanations that are not a natural fit for gameplay. Combined, they can accomplish more than either can alone. An experiment tested this claim using the topic of statistics,…

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of the argumentation based science learning (ABSL) approach on the teaching probability to pre-service teachers. The sample of the study included 41 students studying at the Department of Elementary School Mathematics Education in a public university during the 2014-2015 academic years. The study is…

Latent class regression models relate covariates and latent constructs such as psychiatric disorders. Though full maximum likelihood estimation is available, estimation is often in three steps: (i) a latent class model is fitted without covariates; (ii) latent class scores are predicted; and (iii) the scores are regressed on covariates. We propose…

In this study, we explored the influence of kindergarten children's perspectives of school on their literacy and self-regulation outcomes. Children's early perspectives were captured in a three-question, finger-puppet interview. Responses to the interview questions were coded thematically as being academic and/or social in nature, and were…

This article explores integrating place-based education with critical mathematics toward teaching mathematics for spatial justice. "Local Lotto," a curricular module with associated digital tools, was designed to investigate the lottery as a critical spatial phenomenon and piloted in urban high schools. This article describes findings…

Decisions about instruction, research, or policy often require the interpretation of student assessment scores. Increasingly, attitudinal variables are included in an assessment strategy, and it is important to ensure that interpretations of students' attitudinal status are based on instrument scores that apply similarly for diverse students. In…

The Office of Shared Accountability (OSA) in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) conducted a linking study to examine the relationship of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment with the Common Core Consortia Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment in the 2014-2015 school year. This is the…

Since the introduction of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) in 2010, stakeholders in adopting states have engaged in a variety of activities to understand CCSSM standards and transition from previous state standards. These efforts include research, professional development, assessment and modification of curriculum resources,…

The authors propose and test a causal model theory of reasoning about conditional arguments with causal content. According to the theory, the acceptability of modus ponens (MP) and affirming the consequent (AC) reflect the conditional likelihood of causes and effects based on a probabilistic causal model of the scenario being judged. Acceptability…

The importance of subscores in educational and psychological assessments is undeniable. Subscores yield diagnostic information that can be used for determining how each examinee's abilities/skills vary over different content domains. One of the most common criticisms about reporting and using subscores is insufficient reliability of subscores.…

In this study, we use detailed survey and institutional data from a prospective panel study of students attending a highly selective, private university to examine the effects of fraternity or sorority membership on a range of collegiate outcomes. Previous research has given insufficient attention to selection issues inherent in the study of…

Since 1973, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has gathered information about student achievement in mathematics. Results of these periodic assessments, produced in print and web-based formats, provide valuable information to a wide variety of audiences. They inform citizens about the nature of students' comprehension of the…

A long-standing challenge for knowledge tracing is how to update estimates of multiple subskills that underlie a single observable step. We characterize approaches to this problem by how they model knowledge tracing, fit its parameters, predict performance, and update subskill estimates. Previous methods allocated blame or credit among subskills…

Bayesian orthodoxy posits a tight relationship between conditional probability and updating. Namely, the probability of an event "A" after learning "B" should equal the conditional probability of "A" given "B" prior to learning "B". We examine whether ordinary judgment conforms to the orthodox view. In three experiments we found substantial…

Propensity score applications are often used to evaluate educational program impact. However, various options are available to estimate both propensity scores and construct comparison groups. This study used a student achievement dataset with commonly available covariates to compare different propensity scoring estimation methods (logistic…