Engaging and motivating students in undergraduate statistics courses can be enhanced by using topical peer-reviewed publications for analyses as part of course assignments. Given the popularity of on-campus therapy dog stress-reduction programs, this topic fosters buy-in from students whilst providing information regarding the importance of mental…

The thriving developer community has a significant impact on the widespread use of R software. To better understand this community, we conducted a study analyzing all R packages available on CRAN. We identified the most popular topics of R packages by text mining the package descriptions. Additionally, using network centrality measures, we…

Meta-analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) are 2 of the most prominent statistical techniques employed in the behavioral, medical, and social sciences. They each have their own well-established research communities, terminologies, statistical models, software packages, and journals ("Research Synthesis Methods" and…

In order to demonstrate the value of higher education and evaluate the effectiveness of various policies and practices, researchers are increasingly expected to merge data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) with a range of other federal and private-sector data sources. In this article, I detail a number of the most…

In this ITEMS module, we provide a didactic overview of the specification, estimation, evaluation, and interpretation steps for diagnostic measurement/classification models (DCMs), which are a promising psychometric modeling approach. These models can provide detailed skill- or attribute-specific feedback to respondents along multiple latent…

When practitioners use modern measurement models to evaluate rating quality, they commonly examine rater fit statistics that summarize how well each rater's ratings fit the expectations of the measurement model. Essentially, this approach involves examining the unexpected ratings that each misfitting rater assigned (i.e., carrying out analyses of…

Our objective is the estimation of voter transitions between two consecutive parliamentary elections. Usually, such analyses have been based either on individual survey data or on aggregated data. To move beyond these methods and their respective problems, we propose the application of so-called hybrid models, which combine aggregate and…

This study seeks to understand the big-data analytics readiness of four-year public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) in North Carolina. The higher education landscape has been experiencing unprecedented challenges including declines in enrollment, graduation rates, and student retention rates. Coupled with cuts in funding at the…

We report the results of a convergent validity study examining the externalizing subscale (SRSS-E5, five items) of the adapted Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE 9) with the externalizing subscale of the Teacher Report Form (TRF) with two samples of K-12 students. Results of logistic regression and receiver…

Recent trends in vaccine hesitancy have brought to light the importance of using accurate school vaccination data. This study evaluated the accuracy of a pilot statewide kindergarten vaccination survey in Oklahoma. School vaccination and exemption data were collected from November 2017 to April 2018 via the Research Electronic Data Capture system.…

There is considerable variability in the literacy assessments taken in Kindergarten through second grade, across schools and between multilingual learners and other students, and within students over time. This makes it difficult to study changes in students' acquisition of ELA skills in these formative years, or to evaluate policies and practices…

Implementation of a culturally responsive positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework is associated with positive outcomes for secondary students when implemented schoolwide. Yet, educators often report more implementation challenges in secondary school as compared to elementary school settings. Difficulties obtaining student…

Science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions offer competitive earnings, tend to be compatible with technological advances, and are predicted to remain in high demand in the future. Many countries, including Greece, have prioritised STEM education on their educational agendas, aiming to prepare students for careers in these…

As education systems adapt to evolving societal and technological demands, mathematics curricula must also evolve. Recent trends highlight challenges such as declines in student performance and gaps between intended learning goals and real-world applications. Integrating competencies like data literacy, computational thinking, and problem-solving…

In Singapore, where primary and secondary students routinely top standardized worldwide mathematics examinations, a paradox emerges: when reaching university, many struggle to apply their skills critically in real-world contexts. This commentary examines the challenges and strategies involved in teaching quantitative reasoning (QR) to…