We used data simulations to test whether composites consisting of cohesive subtest scores are more accurate than composites consisting of divergent subtest scores. We demonstrate that when multivariate normality holds, divergent and cohesive scores are equally accurate. Furthermore, excluding divergent scores results in biased estimates of…

Purpose: Repeated duration data are frequently used in behavioral studies. Classical linear or log-linear mixed models are often inadequate to analyze such data, because they usually consist of nonnegative and skew-distributed variables. Therefore, we recommend use of a statistical methodology specific to duration data. Method: We propose a…

To date, small sample problems with latent growth models (LGMs) have not received the amount of attention in the literature as related mixed-effect models (MEMs). Although many models can be interchangeably framed as a LGM or a MEM, LGMs uniquely provide criteria to assess global data-model fit. However, previous studies have demonstrated poor…

This paper examines the short-run distributional effects of publicly provided education services in Greece using static incidence analysis. Public education is found to be inequality-reducing but the progressivity of the system withers away as we move up to higher educational levels. We employ a framework of both relative and absolute inequality…

We examined the influences of different facets of psychological collectivism (Preference, Reliance, Concern, Norm Acceptance, and Goal Priority) on team functioning at 3 different performance depictions: initial team performance, end-state team performance, and team performance change over time. We also tested the extent to which team-member…

Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading (CBM-R) is frequently used to set student goals and monitor student progress. This study examined the quality of growth estimates derived from CBM-R progress monitoring data. The authors used a linear mixed effects regression (LMER) model to simulate progress monitoring data for multiple levels of…

Over 2000 teachers in the state of Washington received reduction-in-force (RIF) notices in the past two years. The authors link data on these RIF notices to a unique dataset that includes student, teacher, school, and district variables to determine the factors that predict the likelihood of a teacher receiving a RIF notice. They find a teacher's…

Under item response theory, the characteristic curve methods (Haebara and Stocking-Lord methods) are used to link two ability scales from separate calibrations. The linking methods use their respective criterion functions that can be defined differently according to the symmetry- and distribution-related schemes. The symmetry-related scheme…

In sentencing research, significant negative coefficients on age research have been interpreted as evidence that actors in the criminal justice system discriminate against younger people. This interpretation is incomplete. Criminal sentencing laws generally specify punishment in terms of the number of past events in a defendant's criminal history.…

A simulation study was conducted to identify the best hot-deck variation to impute missing values. The three variations included in the study were the hot-deck random, the hot-deck sequential, and the hot-deck distance. The properties of these methods were investigated under three levels of the proportion of incomplete records and four levels…

This paper reports on studies of the deterministic and stochastic behaviours of a predator-prey system with prey-dependent response function. The first part of the paper deals with the deterministic analysis of uniform boundedness, permanence, stability and bifurcation. In the second part the reproductive and mortality factors of the prey and…

A new test index is defined as the probability of obtaining two randomly selected test scores (PDTS) as statistically different. After giving a concept definition of the test index, two simulation studies are presented. The first analyzes the influence of the distribution of test scores, test reliability, and sample size on PDTS within classical…

A Monte Carlo study investigated the ability of the ALSCAL multidimensional scaling program to recover true structure inherent in simulated proximity measures when data were missing. The program worked well with up to 60 percent missing data as long as sample size was large and random error was low. (Author/JKS)

It is a widely held belief that an anchor test used in equating should be a miniature version (or "minitest") of the tests to be equated; that is, the anchor test should be proportionally representative of the two tests in content and statistical characteristics. This paper examines the scientific foundation of this belief, especially…

The recent financial crisis faced by American universities has led to the reevaluation of current forms of financing higher education and has created interest in previously untried methods. One such scheme proposed in the early 1960's--income contingent loans--has received increasing attention; implementation of such loan programs requires either…