A group of preschool-aged children with specific language impairment (SLI), a group of typically developing children matched for age (TD-A), and a group of younger typically developing children matched for mean length of utterance (TD-MLU) were presented with novel verbs in contexts that required them to inflect with past tense "-ed."…

This paper presents two probabilistic models based on the logistic and the normal distribution for the analysis of dependencies in individual paired comparison judgments such as might occur in educational research. Three applications illustrate the approach. (SLD)

A Bayesian approach to the testing of competing covariance structures is developed. Approximate posterior probabilities are easily obtained from the chi square values and other known constants. The approach is illustrated using an example that demonstrates how the prior probabilities can alter results concerning the preferred model specification.…

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 21 urban districts participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. Eighteen of the districts participating in the 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) participated in earlier assessment years, while three districts…

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 21 urban districts participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading. Eighteen of the districts participating in the 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) participated in earlier assessment years, while three districts…

In the standard Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), participants have to choose repeatedly from four options. Each option is characterized by a constant gain, and by the frequency and amount of a probabilistic loss. Crone and van der Molen (2004) reported that school-aged children and even adolescents show marked deficits in IGT performance. In this study,…

This article presents a discussion of mixed methods (MM) sampling techniques. MM sampling involves combining well-established qualitative and quantitative techniques in creative ways to answer research questions posed by MM research designs. Several issues germane to MM sampling are presented including the differences between probability and…

Though the Paired-Item-Score (Eakin and Long) (EJ 174 780) method of scoring true-false tests has certain advantages over the traditional scoring methods (percentage right and right minus wrong), these advantages are attained at the cost of a larger risk of misranking the examinees. (Author/BW)

Three experiments compared the learning of lower-dimensional family resemblance categories (4 dimensions) with the learning of higher-dimensional ones (8 dimensions). Category-learning models incorporating error-driven learning, hypothesis testing, or limited capacity attention predict that additional dimensions should either increase learning…

This study investigates sequential dependencies in interresponse times (IRTs) produced by human subjects under random-ratio (RR) and staircase stochastic reinforcement of waiting (staircase SRW) schedules using autocorrelation and relative frequencies of IRT[subscript n] *IRT[subscript n+1] pairs. In the first of two experiments conducted for this…

Many school accountability programs, including the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act are built on the premise that the threat of sanctions attached to failure will produce higher student achievement. However, the stigma associated with failing schools and the expected costs of possible future sanctions may lead experienced teachers to leave these…

Three strategies for linking two consecutive assessments are investigated and compared by analyzing reading data for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) using the general diagnostic model. These strategies are compared in terms of marginal and joint expectations of skills, joint probabilities of skill patterns, and item…

Cross-validated classification accuracies were compared under assumptions of equal and varying degrees of unequal prior probabilities of group membership for 24 bootstrap and 48 simulated data sets. The data sets varied in sample size, number of predictors, relative group size, and degree of group separation. Total-group hit rates were used to…

This paper compares the use of multiple pools versus a single pool with respect to test security against large-scale item sharing among some examinees in a computer-based test, under the assumption that a randomized item selection method is used. It characterizes the conditions under which employing multiple pools is better than using a single…

The stability of standard score and probability method sociometric group assignments was examined over a two-year period with an initial group of 334 fifth graders. Popular, neglected, and controversial groups evidenced low stability of group members over intervals of approximately 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. (Author/RH)