We present new estimates of the importance of teachers in early grades for later grade outcomes, but unlike the existing literature that examines teacher "fade-out," we directly compare the contribution of early-grade teachers to later year outcomes against the contributions of later year teachers to the same later year outcomes. Where…

With the continuous development of education, personalized learning has attracted great attention. How to evaluate students' learning effects has become increasingly important. In information technology courses, the traditional academic evaluation focuses on the student's learning outcomes, such as "scores" or "right/wrong,"…

The present study examines bias in parameter estimates and standard error in cross-classified random effect modeling (CCREM) caused by omitting the random interaction effects of the cross-classified factors, focusing on the effect of a sample size within cells and ratio of a small cell. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to compare the…

This paper discusses a novel approach for developing more refined and accurate learner models from student data collected from Open Ended Learning Environments (OELEs). OELEs provide students choice in how they go about constructing solutions to problems, and students exhibit a variety of learning behaviors in such environments. Building accurate…

A latent multivariate regression model is developed that employs a generalized asymmetric Laplace (GAL) prior distribution for regression coefficients. The model is designed for high-dimensional applications where an approximate sparsity condition is satisfied, such that many regression coefficients are near zero after accounting for all the model…

Making causal inferences from a quasi-experiment is difficult. Sensitivity analysis approaches to address hidden selection bias thus have gained popularity. This study serves as an introduction to a simple but practical form of sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation procedures. We examine estimated treatment effects for a school-based…

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…

The current study aimed to construct a questionnaire that measures students' personality traits related to "striving for understanding" and "learning value of geometry" and then examine its psychometric properties. Through the use of multiple methods on two independent samples of 402 and 521 middle school students, two studies…

This 3-year study evaluated the effectiveness of the Second Step-Student Success Through Prevention (SS-SSTP) social-emotional learning program on increasing prosocial behaviors that could serve as protective factors against peer conflict and bullying among students with disabilities. Participants included 123 students with disabilities across 12…