To plan cluster-randomized trials with sufficient statistical power to detect intervention effects on student achievement, researchers need multilevel design parameters, including measures of between-classroom and between-school differences and the amounts of variance explained by covariates at the student, classroom, and school level. Previous…

We compared students' performance on a paper-based test (PBT) and three computer-based tests (CBTs). The three computer-based tests used different test navigation and answer selection features, allowing us to examine how these features affect student performance. The study sample consisted of 9,698 fourth through twelfth grade students from across…

The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Third Edition (ECERS-3) is the latest version of one of the most widely used observational tools for assessing the quality of classrooms serving preschool-aged children. This study was the first assessment of its factor structure and validity, an important step given its widespread use. An ECERS-3…

The relationship between 2nd and 3rd grade teachers' linguistic knowledge and spelling instructional practices and their students' spelling gains from fall to spring was examined. Second grade (N = 16) and 3rd grade (N = 16) teachers were administered an instructional practices survey and a linguistic knowledge test. Total scores on the two…

We investigated the dimensionality of inference making in samples of 4- to 9-year-olds (Ns = 416-783) to determine if local and global coherence inferences could be distinguished. In addition, we examined the validity of our experimenter-developed inference measure by comparing with three additional measures of listening comprehension. Multitrait,…

The purpose of the present study is to examine whether performance on the "TOEFL iBT"® Reading practice test is affected by 3 different levels of feedback provided to learners upon completion of reading exercises: (a) correctness of learner response (the knowledge of correct results [KCR] feedback), (b) KCR feedback and rationales for…

We investigate the impact of a relatively brief cross-curricular intervention, Word Generation, on middle school students' development of taught academic vocabulary. Students (n = 8382) in forty-four middle schools in three urban districts were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment teachers implemented the program with…

Multilevel modeling (MLM) is frequently used to detect cluster-level group differences in cluster randomized trial and observational studies. Group differences on the outcomes (posttest scores) are detected by controlling for the covariate (pretest scores) as a proxy variable for unobserved factors that predict future attributes. The pretest and…

Based on a one-year longitudinal experimental study with 3,782 kindergarten school children across 15 countries, this article examines the association between prayer and happiness. Results show that the post-test scores on the faces scale were higher for the participant group who had taken the prayer lessons vis-à-vis the comparison group.…

In a pretest-posttest cluster-randomized trial, one of the methods commonly used to detect an intervention effect involves controlling pre-test scores and other related covariates while estimating an intervention effect at post-test. In many applications in education, the total post-test and pre-test scores that ignores measurement error in the…

Ratio and proportional relationships are of primary importance during the upper elementary and middle school grades (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989, 2000; National Mathematics Advisory Panel [NMAP], 2008). These relationships, along with the interrelated topics of fractions, decimals,…

Multilevel modeling (MLM) is frequently used to detect group differences, such as an intervention effect in a pre-test--post-test cluster-randomized design. Group differences on the post-test scores are detected by controlling for pre-test scores as a proxy variable for unobserved factors that predict future attributes. The pre-test and post-test…

A variety of computerized interactive learning platforms exist. Most include instructional supports in the form of problem sets. Feedback to users ranges from a single word like "Correct!" to offers of hints and partially to fully worked examples. Behind-the-scenes design of such systems varies as well --from static dictionaries of…

This study evaluated the effects of a mathematics software program, the Building Blocks software suite, on young children's mathematics performance. Participants included 247 Kindergartners from 37 classrooms in 9 schools located in low-income communities. Children within classrooms were randomly assigned to receive 21 weeks of computer-assisted…

Background: Evidence on the treatment effectiveness for bilingual children with primary language impairment (PLI) is needed to advance both theory and clinical practice. Of key interest is whether treatment effects are maintained following the completion of short-term intense treatments. Aims: To investigate change in select language and cognitive…