We compared students' performance on a paper-based test (PBT) and three computer-based tests (CBTs). The three computer-based tests used different test navigation and answer selection features, allowing us to examine how these features affect student performance. The study sample consisted of 9,698 fourth through twelfth grade students from across…

Studies have shown that test anxiety has become more prevalent since the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 and that test anxiety negatively affects student achievement. Early research viewed test anxiety as being a unidimensional construct; however, recent research has purported that test anxiety is a multidimensional construct.…

This quantitative study examined seventh-grade reading scores to determine the extent to which certain demographic variables (race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status) explain and MAP reading scores predict reading scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in a selected northeast Texas public school. Standardized…

For the past decade, the accountability model associated with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasized proficiency on end of year tests; with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) the emphasis on proficiency within statewide testing programs, though now integrated with other measures of student learning, nevertheless remains a primary metric for…

Science standards have been a topic in educational research in Austria for about ten years now. Starting in 2005, competency structure models have been developed for junior and senior classes of different school types. After evaluating these models, prototypic tasks were created to point out the meaning of the models to teachers. At the moment,…

The researchers in this study investigated the impact of mathematics-focused parental involvement on Kindergarten to Grade 8 children and parents as well as factors prompting that impact. Qualitative analysis consisting of parent, child, and teacher interviews and 3-year quantitative testing showed significant improvements in students' mathematics…

Latent transition analysis (LTA) was initially developed to provide a means of measuring change in dynamic latent variables. In this article, we illustrate the use of a cognitive diagnostic model, the DINA model, as the measurement model in a LTA, thereby demonstrating a means of analyzing change in cognitive skills over time. An example is…

Despite boys' educational underachievement, gender differences in study motivation have received little research attention. Guided by self-determination theory and the identity-based motivation model, this study investigates differences in study motivation between boys and girls, as well as within each gender. To adequately consider these…

We examined the use of balance and inverse methods in equation solving. The main difference between the balance and inverse methods lies in the operational line (e.g. +2 on both sides vs -2 becomes +2). Differential element interactivity favours the inverse method because the interaction between elements occurs on both sides of the equation for…

During adolescence, gender identity (GI) develops through a dialectic process of personal reflection and with input from the social environment. Peers play an important role in the socialization of gendered behavior, but no studies to-date have assessed peer influences on GI. Thus, the goal of the present study was to examine peer influences on…

There has been a recent call to improve data reporting in kinesiology journals, including the appropriate use of univariate and multivariate analysis techniques. For example, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with univariate post hocs and a Bonferroni correction is frequently used to investigate group differences on multiple dependent…

Bullying is grounded in the interactions between an individual and complex social-ecological systems. Therefore, bullying involvement is not just confined to the classroom or school. Recent research suggests that sibling aggression may be a predictor for peer-level aggression. These findings may be more relevant for students with disabilities…

Guided by Beck's cognitive model of depression, this study examined the mediating role of negative self-cognition in the association between harsh parenting and adolescent depression and whether peer acceptance moderated this indirect relationship. Eight hundred and fifty-nine seventh to ninth graders (379 girls and 480 boys, mean age = 13.58…

Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative, experimental study was to determine if there was a significant difference in 2016 Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) English language arts (ELA) writing levels and ELA overall achievement levels between 7th- and 8th-grade students with and without access to Chromebooks for at least one 46-minute period of…

Northwest Evaluation Association™ (NWEA™) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) interim assessment scores. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) reading and math with those of the…