Most researchers and policymakers rely on the share of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals when describing student socioeconomic background in schools. But shares of students receiving free and reduced-price meals, and other measures related to the distribution of school meals, vary by state and across time because of changes in…

Proactive preliminary minimum sample size determination can be useful for the early planning stages of a latent variable modeling study to set a realistic scope, long before the model and population are finalized. This study examined existing methods and proposed a new method for proactive preliminary minimum sample size determination.

In this paper we consider the challenges involved in evaluating teacher preparation programs when controlling for school contextual bias. Including school fixed effects in the achievement models used to estimate preparation program effects controls for school environment by relying on differences among student outcomes within the same schools to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the alignment of the easyCBM[R] mathematics benchmark and progress monitoring measures to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Curriculum Focal Points" (NCTM, 2006). Based on Webb's alignment model (1997, 2002), we collected expert judgments on individual math items across a sampling of forms…

This report summarizes research findings and implementation practices for teacher and principal value-added models (VAMs), as a first step in the Team Pennsylvania Foundation's (Team PA) pilot project to inform the development of a full, statewide model evaluation system. We have selected 21 studies that represent key issues and findings in the…

This is the final report of the National Evaluation of Student Support Services (SSS). SSS is one of eight federally funded grant programs that are administered as part of the Federal TRIO Programs within the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The SSS program, in particular, focuses on students while they are enrolled in college. In general, SSS…

School principals have complex jobs. To better understand the work lives of principals, this study uses observational time-use data for all high school principals in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This paper examines the relationship between the time principals spent on different types of activities and school outcomes including student…

Fit statistics provide a direct measure of assessment accuracy by analyzing the fit of measurement models to an individual's (or group's) response pattern. Students that lose interest during the assessment, for example, will miss exercises that are within their abilities. Such students will respond correctly to some more difficult items and…

Factors that are most important to institutional effectiveness in the production of black baccalaureates were studied. A further concern was how these factors can be translated into policies and practices for undergraduate institutions that have not traditionally served black students. An effectiveness quotient was developed as an overall measure…

This study was designed to fill the "implementation measurement" gap. A methodology to quantitatively measure the level of Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) implementation that can be used across a variety of CSR models was developed, and then applied to measure actual implementation of four different CSR models in a large number of schools. The…

The purpose of this study was to use realistically simulated data to evaluate various CAT designs for use with the verbal reasoning measure of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). Factors such as item pool depth, content constraints, and item formats often cause repeated adaptive administrations of an item at ability levels that are not…

Data taken primarily from the Australian Youth Survey were used to model unemployment as a function of personal characteristics, family structure, and neighborhood composition using binomial probit estimation techniques. The cross-sectional model developed indicated that significant neighborhood effects on unemployment outcomes exist in high- and…

Data primarily from Australia's Youth in Transition Survey were analyzed to explain differences in the schooling decisions of individuals born in 1961 versus 1970. The main measured factors affecting individuals' schooling decisions were as follows: ability; school type; and family background. Participation in school was positively associated with…

Available evidence on the supply of and demand for professional scientists and technologists (S&Ts) in the European Union (EU) was reviewed. The main data sources were as follows: approximately 450 reference documents; national and international governments, training and employer bodies, and key international organizations; more than 100…

The engagement of young Australians with school and individual and school-level influences on student engagement (defined as participation in extracurricular activities) were examined by analyzing data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. Being female, being from a higher socioeconomic background, and having professional parents were…