This study employed propensity score matching and regression analysis to determine whether or not a retention scholarship pilot program at a mid-size public research university was effective at increasing first-year retention. The scholarship pilot did not require any application process for students but rather used a predictive logistic…

A course-level early final study status prediction task is to predict as soon as possible the final success of each student after studying a course. It is significant because each successful course accomplishment is required for a degree. Further, early predictions provide enough time to make necessary changes for ultimate success. This article…

The article positions mixed-method research (MMR) as a principled complementary research method to the traditional quantitative and qualitative research approaches. By situating MMR in an analysis of some of the common research paradigms, the article presents it as a natural choice in order to complement and cater to the increasingly complex needs…

When text datasets are very large, manually coding line by line becomes impractical. As a result, researchers sometimes try to use machine learning algorithms to automatically code text data. One of the most popular algorithms is topic modeling. For a given text dataset, a topic model provides probability distributions of words for a set of…

In order to rethink data with an equity mindset, we approached a group of NCSI Thought Leaders and asked them: What are the questions about racial equity in our education systems that could be transformative, if answered? After collecting their recommendations, we organized their list based on the characteristics of an equity mindset as outlined…

This appendix supplements the report "Stackable Credential Pipelines in Ohio: Evidence on Programs and Earnings Outcomes" (ED613593). In the appendix, the authors provide more details about the data and empirical approach, additional information about the samples, and some alternative results from analyses related to those that appear in…

In-person sessions of participative design are commonly used in the field of Learning Analytics, but to reach students not always available on-site (e.g. during a pandemic), they have to be adapted to online-only context. Card-based tools are a common co-design method to collect users' needs, but this tangible format limits data collection and…

In standard statistical data analysis, the effects of intervention or prevention efforts are evaluated in terms of variable relations. Results from application of regression-type methods suggest whether, overall, intervention is successful. In this article, we propose using configural frequency analysis (CFA) either in tandem with regression-type…

The article positions mixed-method research (MMR) as a principled complementary research method to the traditional quantitative and qualitative research approaches. By situating MMR in an analysis of some of the common research paradigms, the article presents it as a natural choice in order to complement and cater to the increasingly complex needs…

The purpose of this dissertation was to develop and use a platform that facilitates Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) replication research. Replication and the verification of previously published findings is an essential step in the scientific process. Unfortunately, a replication crisis has long plagued scientific research, affecting even the…

Although research into the relationship between quantitative literacy (QL) and news reporting is sparse, the consensus among researchers is that journalists tend not to place QL very highly among their professional values and that journalism suffers as a consequence. This paper is an attempt to provide concrete examples of the ways in which news…

Learning Analytics (LA) has had a growing interest by academics, researchers, and administrators motivated by the use of data to identify and intervene with students at risk of underperformance or discontinuation. Typically, faculty leadership and advisors use data sources hosted on different institutional databases to advise their students for…

School districts' racial/ethnic and economic compositions are strongly related to average student achievement. Relationships between districts' demographic compositions and average student growth are much weaker, and many believe growth measures are a more accurate indicator of student learning. We seek to understand if the dissemination of growth…

Researchers often assess causal effects of educational programs or policies using educational assessment data. This dissertation explores novel methods of estimating causal effects in educational assessment data and is broken into three parts. The first part proposes a regression discontinuity design with an ordinal running variable to assess the…

In this paper, the authors address learning analytics and the ways academic libraries are beginning to participate in wider institutional learning analytics initiatives. Since there are moral issues associated with learning analytics, the authors consider how data mining practices run counter to ethical principles in the American Library…