Program evaluation is important for assessing the implementation and outcomes of local, state, and federal programs. The Program Evaluation Toolkit provides tools and resources to support individuals responsible for evaluating and monitoring local, state, or federal programs. The toolkit comprises eight modules that cover critical steps in program…

Longitudinal panel studies are widely used in developmental science to address important research questions on human development across the lifespan. These studies, however, are often challenging to implement. They can be costly, time-consuming, and vulnerable to test--retest effects or high attrition over time. Planned missingness designs (PMDs),…

This article is presented in two parts: in the first part we discuss the use of R and R-related tools when implementing a data science curriculum in the classroom and direct readers to helpful R resources in education, and in the second part, we demonstrate the use of R in exploring COVID-19 data. In particular, we explore ethnic/racial…

Multiple studies show that outcomes, whether they be better degree completion rates or successful short-term workforce training, are negatively affected by inadequate funding (Kahlenberg, 2015). To bolster their case for underfunding, researchers and college advocacy groups produce studies that rely on an important federal dataset--the Integrated…

Digital phenotyping is defined as the "moment-by-moment quantification of the individual level human phenotype in situ using data from personal digital devices". The passive data collected by smartphone devices, including GPS, accelerometer and communication logs, can provide insights on users' behaviors that could be related to various…

We examined the outcomes of elementary school-based problem-solving teams (PSTs) who participated in a multi-component consultation focused on enhancing systematic problem solving. Consultation provided to each PST included training in the use of a problem-solving protocol (i.e., "Outcomes: Planning Monitoring, and Evaluating"…

Schools, state and local education and workforce agencies, colleges, career education and training programs, and employers collect and use education and workforce data. But without a connected, cohesive system through which students, job seekers, and college and career counselors can get that information, it often remains just out of reach for…

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…

In this paper, we investigate an interesting question that came up when reading a problem in a school textbook: What happens to the variance of a dataset in the case of changing one single data point, and why? Some of the answers are not surprising but here we find the full answer and demonstrate the understanding of it suitable for school…

Evaluators have been slow to "plug" into the digital world, let alone engage with the strategic implications of the Big Data revolution for the evaluation discipline. Yet, Big Data holds enormous promise for extending the reach and improving the quality of evaluation practice. Equally, systematic recourse to evaluation would greatly…

Multilevel modeling is commonly used with clustered data, and much emphasis has been placed specifically on the multilevel linear model (MLM). When modeling clustered ordinal data, a multilevel ordinal model with cumulative logit link assuming proportional odds (i.e., multilevel cumulative logit model) is typically used. Depending on the research…

Recent insights have underscored the role of context in cultivating intelligence mindsets' influence on students' academic outcomes. Psychological affordances of the social context may encourage an adaptive perspective (i.e., growth mindset). Expanding this novel area of investigation, we examined how students' sense of belonging, as an affordance…

A STEM education program entitled "Come rain or shine" implemented in a primary rural school in southern Greece as part of the "Diffusion of STEM (DI-STEM)" project and the results of its implementation are presented in this paper. The educational program deepened in weather education and intended to develop eight scientific…

Mission-driven nonprofit organizations sometimes struggle within a cycle of disempowerment resulting from oversaturation of data collection that is reactive to funder demands. In this article, we problematize Community Music School (CMS) data-collection and analysis efforts and discuss alternate approaches to learning about family and community…

Data is everywhere, but not always accessible to everyone. Conventional data visualization tools and guidelines often assume a standard user, neglecting the neurodivergent needs of individuals with cognitive disabilities. These disabilities can create significant obstacles in data-driven reasoning, including difficulties in processing complex…