One of the main objectives of international large-scale assessments is to make comparisons between different countries, education policies, education systems, or subgroups. One of the main criteria for making comparisons between different groups is to ensure measurement invariance. The purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance…

The piecewise latent growth models (PWLGMs) can be used to study changes in the growth trajectory of an outcome due to an event or condition, such as exposure to an intervention. When there are multiple outcomes of interest, a researcher may choose to fit a series of PWLGMs or a single parallel-process PWLGM. A comparison of these models is…

For decades, achievement goal theory has been extensively used, but empirical research still requires a clearer understanding of the underlying factors conceptualized and measured during secondary school periods. In light of the increasing use of longitudinal studies in motivation research, this study aims to investigate the longitudinal…

Measurement invariance is crucial for making valid comparisons across different groups (Kline, 2016; Vandenberg, 2002). To address the challenges associated with invariance testing such as large sample size requirements, the complexity of the model, etc., applied researchers have incorporated parcels. Parcels have been shown to alleviate skewness,…

Class climate has been focused in the context of school research for decades. One central facet of class climate is cohesion. Whereas there are well-elaborated instruments to assess cohesion in different contexts (e.g., sport and therapy), such an instrument is missing for the school context. The aim of the current article is to present an…

This dissertation investigates the inequitable distribution and causal impacts of mathematics teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT) on instructional quality and student learning outcomes. Using the rich information in the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project longitudinal database, the study addresses three core research questions:…

Students' responses to Word Dictation curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in writing tend to include a lot of missing values, especially items not reached due to the three-minute test time limit. A large amount of non-ignorable not-reached responses in Word Dictation can be considered using alternative item response theory (IRT) approaches. In…

Purpose: Teacher ratings were used to compare children with developmental language disorders (DLD) and their typically developing peers on 2 subtypes of social withdrawal (shyness and unsociability). Measurement invariance analysis was utilized to determine if teachers rated the 2 groups using the same underlying construct for each of the rating…

In longitudinal studies, measurement invariance is required to conduct substantive comparisons over time or across groups. In this study, we examined measurement invariance on a recently developed instrument capturing student preferences for seven instructional strategies related to science learning and career interest. We have labeled these seven…

Among school psycho-social factors with considerable effect on student outcomes are both school and classroom climate. Because how students perceive the classroom climate strongly predicts achievement, measuring classroom climate gains importance and the need for testing the existing results across cultures persists. In this study, we assessed the…

The 2018 NSSME+ was based on a national probability sample of schools and computer science, mathematics, and science teachers in grades K-12 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The sample was designed to yield national estimates of course offerings and enrollment, teacher background preparation, textbook usage, instructional techniques,…

This paper describes a statistical linking between the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Grade 4 reading and the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in Grade 4 reading. The primary purpose of the linking study is to obtain a statistical comparison between NAEP (a national assessment) and PIRLS (an…

We present a method for data-based decision making at the school level using student achievement data. We demonstrate the potential of a national assessment database [i.e., the University of Oregon DIBELS Data System (DDS)] to provide comparative levels of school-level data on average student achievement gains. Through the DDS as a data source,…

It is often difficult and costly to obtain individual-level student achievement data, yet, researchers are frequently reluctant to use school-level achievement data that are widely available from state websites. We argue that public-use aggregate school-level achievement data are, in fact, sufficient to address a wide range of evaluation questions…

The present study examined the psychometric equivalence of administering a computer-based version of the Gifted Rating Scale (GRS) compared with the traditional paper-and-pencil GRS-School Form (GRS-S). The GRS-S is a teacher-completed rating scale used in gifted assessment. The GRS-Electronic Form provides an alternative method of administering…