Mediation analysis is an important statistical tool in many research fields, where the joint significance test is widely utilized for examining mediation effects. Nevertheless, the limitation of this mediation testing method stems from its conservative Type I error, which reduces its statistical power and imposes certain constraints on its…

Concerns over students engaging in various forms of academic misconduct persist, especially with the post-COVID-19 rise in online learning and assessment. Research has demonstrated a clear role of the personality trait psychopathy in cheating, yet little is known about why this relationship exists. Building on the research by Curtis et al.…

Evidence abounds that passive strategies such as rereading or highlighting are less effective than active strategies such as drawing models or explaining concepts to others. However, many studies have also reported that students tend to use learning strategies that they perceive as comfortable and easy, even when other strategies may be more…

This study incorporates a random forest (RF) approach to probe complex interactions and nonlinearity among predictors into an item response model with the goal of using a hybrid approach to outperform either an RF or explanatory item response model (EIRM) only in explaining item responses. In the specified model, called EIRM-RF, predicted values…

This study examines the growing issue of academic dishonesty in online assessments, a challenge intensified by the expansion of digital learning platforms. Specifically, it investigates the relationship between students' online engagement and their performance in online versus traditional paper-and-pencil tests. Employing a cross-sectional…

Researchers across many fields have called for greater attention to heterogeneity of treatment effects--shifting focus from the average effect to variation in effects between different treatments, studies, or subgroups. True heterogeneity is important, but many reports of heterogeneity have proved to be false, non-replicable, or exaggerated. In…

Relative adiposity (%Fat) was measured using a smartphone-based application in a convenience sample of adults aged 20-52 years (n = 32, 68.7% female, 84.3% White/Caucasian, 26.7 ± 3.5 kg/m2) across different body positions (Anterior versus Posterior) on consecutive days (Day 1 versus Day 2). A reference photo was obtained from the posterior view…

This study investigated the value of ACT Composite scores and high school GPA (HSGPA) in predicting first-year college GPA (FYGPA) and degree completion of students with disabilities who took the ACT with accommodations and enrolled at a two-year or four-year public institution in a single state in the southern US. Descriptive analyses found that…

Online quizzes and learning platforms provided by textbook publishers have become common components of undergraduate education. Here, I examine how participation in these formative assessments related to student course performance. Over multiple semesters, students completed either free online unlimited attempt quizzes or assignments from a…

Purpose: This study aimed to use enrollment information including demographic, family background and financial status, which can be gathered before the first semester starts, to construct early prediction models (EPMs) and extract crucial factors associated with first-year student dropout probability. Design/methodology/approach: The real-world…

While achievement gaps have been widely studied, less attention has been given to how these gaps relate to students' patterns of "academic mobility"-- that is, how students' relative academic standing changes from early to later grades. Using rich administrative data from Washington state, we apply an academic mobility framework to…