Rising concern about America's ability to maintain its competitive position in the global economy has renewed interest in STEM education. The power and the promise of STEM education is based on the need for technological literacy. Technology education is a discipline devoted to the delivery of technological literacy for all. Nevertheless, a…

There is a long-standing debate as to whether nonexperimental estimators of causal effects of social programs can overcome selection bias. Most existing reviews either are inconclusive or point to significant selection biases in nonexperimental studies. However, many of the reviews, the so-called "between-studies," do not make direct…

This paper investigates four methods of linear equating under the common item nonequivalent groups design. Three of the methods are well known: Tucker, Angoff-Levine, and Congeneric-Levine. A fourth method is presented as a variant of the Congeneric-Levine method. Using simulation data generated from the three-parameter logistic IRT model we…

This document is a technical appendix to the report "Executive Headteachers: What's in a Name? A Full Report of the Findings." It provides a detailed account of the methodology used to obtain the data on which the report is based. The research explored the prevalence and nature of the executive headteacher role, in order to inform policy…

The present study primarily aimed at investigating the effect of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) on development of the Iranian EFL learners' ESP Reading Comprehension Skills. Moreover, it was aimed at investigating the probable difference between the TBLT-instructed students of Law and Mechanical Engineering with respect to their ESP reading…

In 2011, CalVet and the California Commission on the Status of Women (the Commission) requested the California Research Bureau (CRB) conduct a second iteration of its 2009 survey of women veterans; identifying their needs, surveying their service utilization and gathering information on their demographics. This report provides the findings of the…

Poverty is a significant problem in rural America. Gaining access to economically marginalized rural populations in order to recruit individuals to participate in a research study, however, is often a challenge. This article compares three different nonprobability sampling techniques that have been used to recruit rural, low-income…

This study aims to fill the gap in the field of observation-based longitudinal studies about metaphors in educational literature and investigates students' perceptions about the concept of university before and after university by identifying and comparing the change and the direction of change observed in perceptions. The phenomenological study…

This research was conducted to find out whether or not using short stories significantly improve the speaking and writing achievements. A quasi-experimental study of non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design or comparison group design was used in this research. The population of this research was the all first semester undergraduate…

Propensity score estimation plays a fundamental role in propensity score matching for reducing group selection bias in observational data. To increase the accuracy of propensity score estimation, the author developed a bootstrap propensity score. The commonly used propensity score matching methods: nearest neighbor matching, caliper matching, and…

This study examined the differences and patterns for three categories between an argument-based inquiry group and a traditional group over the period of the SWH (Science Writing Heuristic) project: (1) teacher talk time, (2) structure of questions (question types), and (3) student responses. The participating teachers were chosen randomly by a…

Two sampling-and-classification-based procedures were developed for automated test assembly: the Cell Only and the Cell and Cube methods. A simulation study based on a 540-item bank was conducted to compare the performance of the procedures with the performance of a mixed-integer programming (MIP) method for assembling multiple parallel test…

Several factors could cause variability in item response theory (IRT) linking and equating procedures, such as the variability across examinee samples and/or test items, seasonality, regional differences, native language diversity, gender, and other demographic variables. Hence, the following question arises: Is it possible to select optimal…

This article reviews selected research on successes of homeschooled students over the past decade. The article raises several methods issues, especially related to sampling issues and recent changes in some state laws. In addition the article reviews research collected from college admission's officers' on their perceptions and attitudes relate to…

Although, male superiority over females in tasks measuring spatial ability is an accepted truism which has been dominated by many authors, in recent days females claim to be equal to the males in all fields of life. It will be interesting to note that this gender difference in performance on spatial tasks does not appear in all cultures. In order…