Applications of polytomous IRT models in applied fields (e.g., health, education, psychology) are abound. However, little is known about the impact of the number of categories and sample size requirements for precise parameter recovery. In a simulation study, we investigated the impact of the number of response categories and required sample size…

In the current longitudinal study, we investigated the structure of students' (N = 1,469) specific growth constructs and their broader growth orientation using a bifactor exploratory structural equation model. We also examined the extent to which each of these components was associated with gains in students' academic and nonacademic outcomes…

Integrated writing assessments are tasks that require students to construct an essay using evidence from source texts. Topic models are statistical models used to analyze text. This study analyzes two integrated writing tasks from students in grades 6 (N=1,250) and 8 (N=1,250) using topic models. Independent evaluations of the essays were also…

Using data from multiple informants has long been considered best practice in education. However, multiple informants often disagree on similar constructs, complicating decision-making. Polynomial regression and response-surface analysis (PRA) is often used to test the congruence effect between multiple informants on an outcome. However, PRA…

This study aims to identify the associations between teacher mental health and student mental health. Cross-sectional data were collected from 127,877 students aged 9-20 years and 2,759 teachers across 31 provinces in China. The mental health of students and teachers were assessed by well-being (life satisfaction and positive mental health), and…