Following the trend in science and engineering education generated by the visible impact created by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), the investigator developed a Physics of Semiconductors Concept Inventory (PSCI). PSCI fills the need of standardized concept tests for undergraduate education in photonics and electrical engineering. The structure…

This paper summarizes results from a math intervention implemented in a high-poverty urban community. Over 7,300 students from kindergarten to 4th grade in 1 low-socioeconomic-status school district participated in the study. Students from 13 different schools (36 different classroom) participated in the treatment. Comparisons were made to…

Pseudo Bayes probability estimates are weighted averages of raw and modeled probabilities; these estimates have been studied primarily in nonpsychometric contexts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate pseudo Bayes probability estimates as applied to the estimation of psychometric test score distributions and chained equipercentile equating…

We establish an isoperimetric inequality for the fundamental tone (first nonzero eigenvalue) of the free plate of a given area, proving the ball is maximal. Given tau greater than 0, the free plate eigenvalues omega and eigenfunctions upsilon are determined by the equation Delta Delta upsilon - tau Delta upsilon = omega upsilon together with…

Maximum marginal likelihood estimation of multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models has been hampered by the calculation of the multidimensional integral over the ability distribution. However, the researcher often has a specific hypothesis about the conditional (in)dependence relations among the latent variables. Exploiting these…

From both functional and biological considerations, it is widely believed that action production, planning, and goal-oriented behaviors supported by the frontal cortex are organized hierarchically [Fuster (1991); Koechlin, E., Ody, C., & Kouneiher, F. (2003). "Neuroscience: The architecture of cognitive control in the human prefrontal cortex."…

The educational field has now accumulated an extensive literature reporting on values of the intraclass correlation coefficient, a parameter essential to determining the required size of a planned cluster randomized trial. We propose here a simple simulation-based approach including all relevant information that can facilitate this task. An…

J. S. Bowers, M. F. Damian, and C. J. Davis (2009) critiqued the computational model of serial order memory put forth in M. Botvinick and D. C. Plaut (2006), purporting to show that the model does not generalize in a way that people do. They attributed this supposed failure to the model's dependence on context-dependent representations,…

A didactic discussion of a procedure for interval estimation of change in scale reliability due to revision is provided, which is developed within the framework of covariance structure modeling. The method yields ranges of plausible values for the population gain or loss in reliability of unidimensional composites, which results from deletion or…

In the quadratic equation, y = ax[superscript 2] + bx + c, the equation y = bx + c is identified as the equation of the line tangent to the parabola at its y-intercept. This is extended to give a convenient method of graphing tangent lines at any point on the graph of a quadratic or a cubic equation. (Contains 5 figures.)

Observational methods are increasingly being used in classrooms to evaluate the quality of teaching. Operational procedures for observing teachers are somewhat arbitrary in existing measures and vary across different instruments. To study the effect of different observation procedures on score reliability and validity, we conducted an experimental…

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative contribution of teacher and tutor ratings of inattentive behavior in two different instructional settings in predicting students' performance on fraction concepts and whole-number calculations. Classroom teachers rated each student's attentive behavior in a whole-class setting and tutors rated…

New high-frequency, automated data collection and analysis algorithms could offer new insights into complex learning processes, especially for tasks in which students have opportunities to generate unique open-ended artifacts such as computer programs. These approaches should be particularly useful because the need for scalable project-based and…

To help all students reach their potential, district leaders must ensure that every student has consistent access to excellent teaching. Opportunity Culture compensation and career path structures help make that possible, and this guide shows how. "Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide" shows…

To help all students reach their potential, district leaders must ensure that every student has consistent access to excellent teaching. Opportunity Culture compensation and career path structures help make that possible, and this guide shows how. "Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide" shows…