To measure "treatment" effects, social science researchers typically rely on nonexperimental data. In education, school and teacher effects on students are often measured through value-added models (VAMs) that are not fully understood. We propose a framework that relates to the education production function in its most flexible form and…

Missing data in scientific research go hand in hand with assumptions about the nature of the missingness. When dealing with missing values, a set of beliefs has to be formulated about the extent to which the observed data may also hold for the missing parts of the data. It is vital that the validity of these missingness assumptions is verified,…

Determining the number of factors in exploratory factor analysis is arguably the most crucial decision a researcher faces when conducting the analysis. While several simulation studies exist that compare various so-called factor retention criteria under different data conditions, little is known about the impact of missing data on this process.…

It is well known that dichotomizing continuous data has the effect to decrease statistical power when the goal is to test for a statistical association between two variables. Modern researchers however are focusing not only on statistical significance but also on an estimation of the "effect size" (i.e., the strength of association…

Mathematics competency is fast becoming an essential requirement in ever greater parts of day-to-day work and life. Thus, creating strategies for improving mathematics learning in students is a major goal of education research. However, doing so requires an ability to look at many aspects of mathematics learning, such as demographics and…

Single case designs (SCDs) are short time series that assess intervention effects by measuring units repeatedly over time both in the presence and absence of treatment. For a variety of reasons, interest in the statistical analysis and meta-analysis of these designs has been growing in recent years. This paper proposes modeling SCD data with…

This study examined relationships among self-reported professional expertise, organizational support of evidence-based practices (EBP), and professional growth. Data were collected from 85 members of American School Counseling Association (ASCA). School counselors with higher self-reported expertise reported that they were more likely to improve…

There are usually limited user evaluation of resources on a recommender system, which caused an extremely sparse user rating matrix, and this greatly reduce the accuracy of personalized recommendation, especially for new users or new items. This paper presents a recommendation method based on rating prediction using causal association rules.…

The increasing use of ordinal variables in different fields has led to the introduction of new statistical methods for their analysis. The performance of these methods needs to be investigated under a number of experimental conditions. Procedures to simulate from ordinal variables are then required. In this article, we deal with simulation from…

In the quest to improve measured educational outcomes national governments across the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and beyond have instituted large-scale assessment (LSA) policies in their public schools. Controversy almost universally follows the implementation of such testing, related to such topics as: a)…

This pre- and posttest multiple-case study examined the effectiveness and usability of the Sensory Processing Measure-Preschool Quick Tips (SPM-P QT) by key stakeholders (parents and teachers) for implementing data-driven intervention to address sensory processing challenges. The Sensory Processing Measure-Preschool (SPM-P) was administered as an…

Regression analysis is a conceptually simple method for investigating relationships among variables. Carrying out a successful application of regression analysis, however, requires a balance of theoretical results, empirical rules, and subjective judgment. "Regression Analysis by Example, Fifth Edition" has been expanded and thoroughly…

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate ways to model nonlinear growth using three testing occasions. We demonstrate our growth models in the context of curriculum-based measurement using the fall, winter, and spring passage reading fluency benchmark assessments. We present a brief technical overview that includes the limitations of a growth…

The use of dual credit has been expanding rapidly. Dual credit is a college course taken by a high school student for which both college and high school credit is given. Previous studies provided limited quantitative evidence that dual credit/dual enrollment is directly connected to positive student outcomes. In this study, predictive statistics…

Incorporating realistic data and research examples into quantitative (e.g., statistics and research methods) courses has been widely recommended for enhancing student engagement and comprehension. One way to achieve these ends is to use a data generator to emulate the data in published research articles. "MorseGen" is a free data generator that…