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…

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is one of the most popular multivariate statistical techniques in Turkish educational research. This study elaborates the SEM procedures employed by 75 educational research articles which were published from 2010 to 2015 in Turkey. After documenting and coding 75 academic papers, categorical frequencies and…

A great deal of recent methodological research has focused on two modern missing data analysis methods: maximum likelihood and multiple imputation. These approaches are advantageous to traditional techniques (e.g. deletion and mean imputation techniques) because they require less stringent assumptions and mitigate the pitfalls of traditional…

This NCEE Technical Methods report examines how to address the problem of missing data in the analysis of data in Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) of educational interventions, with a particular focus on the common educational situation in which groups of students such as entire classrooms or schools are randomized. Missing outcome data are a…

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…

This study examines the application of the marginal maximum likelihood (MML) EM algorithm to the parameter estimation problem of the three-parameter normal ogive and logistic polychotomous item response models. A three-parameter normal ogive model, the Graded Response model, has been developed on the basis of Samejima's two-parameter graded…

A solution to the problem of specification error due to excluded variables in statistical models of treatment effects in nonrandomized (nonequivalent) control group designs is presented. It involves longitudinal observation with at least two pretests. A maximum likelihood estimation program such as LISREL may provide reasonable estimates of…

To fulfill its mandate and its potential the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) must be a multi-content annual assessment of priority learning areas. This report describes a procedure under which measures of attainment can be charted over time in a broad range of skill domains, on item-invariant item response theory scales, using…