In educational and psychological research, it is common to use latent factors to represent constructs and then to examine covariate effects on these latent factors. Using empirical data, this study applied three approaches to covariate effects on latent factors: the multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) approach, multiple group confirmatory…

This study provides a comparison of the results of latent class analysis (LCA) and mixture Rasch model (MRM) analysis using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study -- 2011 (TIMSS-2011) with a focus on the 8th-grade mathematics section. The research study focuses on the comparison of LCA and MRM to determine if results…

The purpose of the study is to analyze the affective traits that affect mathematics achievement through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as a traditional regression model and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS), as one of the data mining methods. Structural Equation Modeling, one of the regression-based methods, is quite popular for…

In the current study, the appropriateness of the Mathematics Attitude Questionnaire administered to middle school 8th grade students in the TIMSS 2015 application to the exploratory structural equation and confirmatory factor analysis models was examined. The study was conducted on 6079 students making up the sample of Turkey. In the TIMSS 2015…

This study was to analyze the effects of parental educational level (P.EDU), science attitude (ATT), and valuing science (VAL) on science performance after establishing gender invariance in a representative sample of the Taiwanese eighth grade population drawn from the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The…

Our purpose was to examine different approaches to modeling the time-varying nature of exceptionality classification. Using longitudinal data from one state's mathematics achievement test for 28,829 students in Grades 3 to 8, we describe the reclassification rate within special education and between general and special education, and compare four…

This study focuses on "high achievement but low motivation" phenomenon that is prevalent in East Asian countries and districts, and uses eighth graders in Taipei that participated in TIMSS 2007 as an example to examine the direct and indirect effects of academic motivation, positive affect, and instruction on science achievement.…

Drawing on the programme for international student assessment 2009 US data-set, this study examines the relationship between formative assessment and students' reading achievement using a structural equation modelling approach. We find that formative assessment is positively related to students' reading achievement directly and indirectly (through…

This study explored the relationship between the reading ability and science achievement of students in grades 5, 8, and 9. Reading ability was assessed with four measures: word recognition, vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, and comprehension (23% of all passages were on science topics). Science achievement was assessed with state…

This study, drawing on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011, examined whether mathematics teachers' perceptions of their students' mathematical competence were related to mathematics achievement, affect toward mathematics, and engagement in mathematics lessons among Grade 8 students in Singapore and…

Large-scale studies, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), provide data to understand cross-national differences and similarities. In this study, we aimed to identify factors predicting mathematics achievement of Turkish students by comparing to Australian students. First, construct equivalence and item bias…

Despite the widespread popularity of growth curve analysis, few studies have investigated robust growth curve models. In this article, the "t" distribution is applied to model heavy-tailed data and contaminated normal data with outliers for growth curve analysis. The derived robust growth curve models are estimated through Bayesian…

With the overarching goal of improving scientific literacy for all, the emphasis on science achievement had been expanding all over the world. In this study, I examined the total, direct and indirect effects of inquiry-based science instruction on U. S. 8th graders' science achievement through attitudes toward science. I also examined the…

Given the increased risk factors in the transition from middle school to high school, this study tracked academic and school discipline records for students receiving general and special education services as they transitioned from Grade 8 to Grade 9. The authors employed analysis of variance and structural equation modeling to determine the…

This study examined the hypothesized relationship between social adjustment, as measured by perceived social support, self-concept, and social skills, and performance on academic achievement tests. Participants included 27 teachers and 77 fourth- and eighth-grade students with diverse academic and behavior competencies. Teachers were asked to…