A simulation study was conducted to explore the performance of the linear logistic test model (LLTM) when the relationships between items and cognitive components were misspecified. Factors manipulated included percent of misspecification (0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, and 15%), form of misspecification (under-specification, balanced misspecification, and…

We evaluated a program to improve literacy instruction on the Kenyan coast using training workshops, semiscripted lesson plans, and weekly text-message support for teachers to understand its impact on students' literacy outcomes and on the classroom practices leading to those outcomes. The evaluation ran from the beginning of Grade 1 to the end of…

Over the past decade educational research has been stimulated by new legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act. Increasing emphasis is being placed on accurately quantifying the success of treatment programs through student achievement scores, so precise estimation is vital for establishing the efficacy of new methodology. Ranked set…

Maximum likelihood estimation of mixed effect baseline category logit models for multinomial longitudinal data can be prohibitive due to the integral dimension of the random effects distribution. We propose to use multidimensional unfolding methodology to reduce the dimensionality of the problem. As a by-product, readily interpretable graphical…

This article has 3 objectives that build on each other. First, we demonstrate how to obtain maximum likelihood estimates for dynamic factor models (the direct autoregressive factor score model) with arbitrary "T" and "N" by means of structural equation modeling (SEM) and compare the approach to existing methods. Second, we go beyond standard time…

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Physical Educators' Judgments about Inclusion (PEJI) survey for analysing the judgments of Japanese (361 male, 170 female) physical education teacher education majors. A secondary purpose was to examine group differences in judgments as a function of gender and past…

This study is intended to provide researchers with empirically derived guidelines for conducting factor analytic studies in research contexts that include dichotomous and continuous levels of measurement. This study is based on the hypotheses that ordinary least squares (OLS) factor analysis will yield more accurate parameter estimates than…

This paper extends single-level missing data methods to efficient estimation of a "Q"-level nested hierarchical general linear model given ignorable missing data with a general missing pattern at any of the "Q" levels. The key idea is to reexpress a desired hierarchical model as the joint distribution of all variables including…

Engineers and policymakers have expressed concern that too few students enter the engineering pipeline. This has led to many efforts to engage students in engineering in after-school programs, summer programs, and more recently, in school curricula. The expectation is that, through these efforts, greater numbers of more demographically diverse…

While most educators assume that not all students try their best on achievement tests, no current research examines if behaviors associated with low test effort, like rapidly guessing on test items, affect teacher value-added estimates. In this article, we examined the prevalence of rapid guessing to determine if this behavior varied by grade,…

The present study examined parent-teacher congruent communication within conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC). Specifically, the study purpose was to determine the extent to which congruence in parent-teacher communication (i.e., the degree to which parents and teachers view their communication in a similar fashion) moderated CBC's effects on…

Policies increasing the amount of time allocated to reading instruction are popular initiatives to meet the demands of accountability testing. Research suggests that time on instruction and children's approaches to learning (ATL), which generally includes measures of attention, persistence, motivation, and flexibility, are positively associated…

Objective: To assess the impact of a parenting intervention, "Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generación" (FPNG), intended to support children, on parents heavy drinking. We hypothesized that parent participants of FPNG would reduce their heavy drinking at 1-year follow-up. Methods: Parents (N = 281) of middle school children from a large,…

Correlation is often present among observations in a distributed system. This thesis deals with various design issues when correlated data are observed at distributed terminals, including: communicating correlated sources over interference channels, characterizing the common information among dependent random variables, and testing the presence of…

In this study, we reanalyzed the classic Hawai'i Family Study of Cognition (HFSC) data using contemporary multilevel modeling techniques. We used the HFSC baseline data ("N" = 6,579) and reexamined the factorial structure of 16 cognitive variables using confirmatory (restricted) measurement models in an explicit sequence. These models…