Machine learning methods for predictive analytics have great potential for uncovering trends in educational data. However, simple linear models still appear to be most widely used, in part, because of their interpretability. This study aims to address the issues of interpretability of complex machine learning classifiers by conducting feature…

This study focused on issues of equity related to small-group participation in a distance learning calculus class. Equity is defined as the fair distribution of opportunities for students to participate and learn. I examined how opportunities for mathematical and social participation were constructed through acts of positioning for four students.…

Black students remain under enrolled in AP courses compared to White peers, even with intentional outreach. One possible reason for this continued disparity is that Black students may choose not to enroll in AP courses where they are racially isolated. Using the 2017-2018 Civil Rights Data Collection and multilevel modeling, I examine the…

We harnessed a large-scale randomized controlled trial to investigate if and how experienced Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science and U.S. Government treatment teachers would shift their practice towards the Knowledge in Action project-based learning (PBL) approach. In any instructional context, shifting to project-based learning can be…

Motivated by the increased statistics expectations for students and their teachers because of the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, this study explores exemplary, in-service statistics teachers' professional identities using a theoretical framework informed by Gee (2000) and communities of practice (Lave &…

An important, yet largely unstudied problem in student data analysis is to detect "misconceptions" from students' responses to "open-response" questions. Misconception detection enables instructors to deliver more targeted feedback on the misconceptions exhibited by many students in their class, thus improving the quality of…

This study examines how teachers navigate tensions between communicating expectations for college level work and student motivation as they determined summative grades in an AP Environmental Science course. Semi-structured interviews and a think-aloud protocol were conducted while teachers in poverty-impacted urban high schools determined final…

In 2009, Florida adopted the Differentiated Accountability (DA) plan, making it among the first to specifically incorporate into its existing school grading scheme college readiness targets. In this paper we use a rich panel of data on high school students in Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) Public Schools to present early evidence of the impact of…

This empirical study examined teacher self-reported participation (using or not using) and engagement (posting or lurking) in the online Advanced Placement (AP) Teacher Communities (APTC) coinciding with the redesigned AP Biology, Chemistry, and Physics exams and curricula. Prior analyses indicated that APTC participation has positive, direct…

The major purpose of this study is to examine the quality of ratings assigned to CR (constructed-response) questions in large-scale assessments from the perspective of Rasch Measurement Theory. Rasch Measurement Theory provides a framework for the examination of rating scale category structure that can yield useful information for interpreting the…

This paper reports on a mixed methods study of 111 AP calculus students' self-reports of their graphing calculator use, comfort, and rationale when choosing between mathematical solutions produced with and without a graphing calculator. [For the complete proceedings, see ED585874.]

Both of the national efforts to reform education (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996) promoted professional development experiences that engage teachers in authentic scientific research. This qualitative multiple case study used legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) as a way to examine the process by which teachers became a part of the laboratory community…

This paper is an overview of some points made at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in April of 1987. Gender effects were computed on 82 nationally standardized tests designed to determine precocity among youth. The effect sizes ranged from a magnitude of 0.50 (favoring females) for spelling in grade 12 on the…

This study used confirmatory factor analytic methods to investigate whether the subscales of the Advanced Placement International English Language examination (APIEL[R]) measuring Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Reading were invariant across 2 groups, 197 Chinese students and 434 German students. Since categorical responses were observed on…

The 1999 Advanced Placement[R] (AP[R] Psychology Examination contains items drawn from 13 factors related to the study of psychology. This factor structure had not been explored previously. This study focuses on evaluating the fit of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models to examination items. Since examination items were dichotomous and…