Various areas of educational research are interested in the transitions between different states--or events--in sequential data, with the goal of understanding the significance of these transitions; one notable example is affect dynamics, which aims to identify important transitions between affective states. Unfortunately, several works have…

In education research, small samples are common because of financial limitations, logistical challenges, or exploratory studies. With small samples, statistical principles on which researchers rely do not hold, leading to trust issues with model estimates and possible replication issues when scaling up. Researchers are generally aware of such…

Classroom context and climate are inherently classroom-level (L2) constructs, but applied researchers sometimes--inappropriately--represent them by student-level (L1) responses in single-level models rather than more appropriate multilevel models. Here we focus on important conceptual issues (distinctions between climate and contextual variables;…

This paper examines the estimation of two-stage clustered RCT designs in education research using the Neyman causal inference framework that underlies experiments. The key distinction between the considered causal models is whether potential treatment and control group outcomes are considered to be fixed for the study population (the…

Evidence-based practice approaches to interventions has come of age and promises to provide a new standard of excellence for school psychologists. This article describes several definitions of evidence-based practice and the problems associated with traditional statistical analyses that rely on rejection of the null hypothesis for the…

This paper analyzes Jencks et al's (1983) and Hauser et al's (1983) reports of their research on the Wisconsin status attainment model. For example, the meaning and interpretation of "unmeasured" family background are discussed and the charge that the status attainment model ignores social structure is examined. (Author/IS)

Data from Project Talent are utilized to assess the representativeness of the samples used in the Wisconsin and the Exploration in Equality of Opportunity (EEO) surveys. Adequacy of the measures of academic aptitude and aspiration used in the surveys are examined, and problems with the Wisconsin model are briefly discussed. (RM)

An analysis of the Wisconsin model of achievement asks how powerful this model is in accounting for social influences, aspirations, and attainment when measurement error is taken into account. Revised estimates show support for the Wisconsin model. A revised model is even more powerful for explaining educational and occupational achievement.…