Applications of polytomous IRT models in applied fields (e.g., health, education, psychology) are abound. However, little is known about the impact of the number of categories and sample size requirements for precise parameter recovery. In a simulation study, we investigated the impact of the number of response categories and required sample size…

Using data from multiple informants has long been considered best practice in education. However, multiple informants often disagree on similar constructs, complicating decision-making. Polynomial regression and response-surface analysis (PRA) is often used to test the congruence effect between multiple informants on an outcome. However, PRA…

The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI; Weinstein et al., "Learning and study strategies inventory." H&H Publishing, 1987) is a prominent instrument used in thousands of institutions worldwide as an educational and research tool. Despite its widespread prevalence, there are inconsistencies regarding the underlying latent…

Many of the analytical models commonly used in educational research often aim to maximize explained variance and identify variable importance within models. These models are useful for understanding general ideas and trends, but give limited insight into the individuals within said models. Data envelopment analysis (DEA), is a method rooted in…

The present study illustrates the utility of applying multilevel mixture models in educational research, using data on the homework behavior of 1,812 Swiss eighth-grade students in French as a second language. A previous person-centered study identified 5 homework learning types characterized by different patterns of high or low homework time and…

Piecewise GMM with unknown turning points is a new procedure to investigate heterogeneous subpopulations' growth trajectories consisting of distinct developmental phases. Unlike the conventional PGMM, which relies on theory or experiment design to specify turning points a priori, the new procedure allows for an optimal location of turning points…

The authors assessed correct model identification rates of Akaike's information criterion (AIC), corrected criterion (AICC), consistent AIC (CAIC), Hannon and Quinn's information criterion (HQIC), and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) for selecting among cross-classified random effects models. Performance of default values for the 5…

Classification accuracies of models for predicting later high school dropouts from data available in student records for grades 4 through 8 were examined for 503 dropouts and 282 persisters (nondropouts) in Florida. Separate prediction models for each grade level have practical importance; implications for dropout prediction are discussed. (SLD)