In their nascent stages, charter schools formed under competing ideologies. In academic circles, charter schools were envisioned as pedagogical laboratories that would allow for educator- and community-driven school improvement. In other circles, charter schools emerged as a free-market reform driven by accountability, choice, and growth. Amid the…

The aim of this study is to compare the results of correlation coefficient estimation of reliability with those obtained through the Bland-Altman plot technique. The scale was first divided into two halves using three different approaches. A linear and high-level relationship was found between the scale scores obtained from the halved forms.…

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation's leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, and statistics. IES's National Center for Education Research (NCER) supports rigorous research that addresses the nation's most pressing education needs from early…

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation's leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, and statistics. IES's National Center for Education Research supports rigorous research that addresses the nation's most pressing education needs from early…

Computational thinking (CT) is an important 21st-century skill. This paper aims at more useful CT assessment. Available evaluation instruments are reviewed; two generally accepted CT evaluation tools are selected for a comprehensive CT assessment: the CTt, a performance test, and the CTS, a self-assessment instrument. The sample comprises 202 high…

This study shows that residual variation can cause problems related to scaling in exponential random graph models (ERGM). Residual variation is likely to exist when there are unmeasured variables in a model--even those uncorrelated with other predictors--or when the logistic form of the model is inappropriate. As a consequence, coefficients cannot…

This article presents findings from a study of the minimum conditions needed to scale a previously successful model of high school reform in New York City. Most studies of scale work backward to identify conditions that were in place when scale was successful, rather than identifying those that were minimally required, and thus more likely to be…

The purpose of this study was to examine the significance level of problems experienced in the transition from elementary to secondary education by using the rank-order scaling method. The study was conducted using a mixed-methods design. Forty-two eighth-and ninth-grade students from different types of public schools and 15 teachers were selected…

Scaling in educational settings has tended to focus on replication of external programs with less focus on the nature of adaptation. In this article, we explore the scaling of Personalization for Academic and Social-emotional Learning (PASL), a systemic high school reform effort that was intentionally identified, developed, and implemented with…

Previous research has established that SAT scores and high school grade point average (HSGPA) differ in their predictive power and in the size of mean differences across racial/ethnic groups. However, the SAT is scaled nationally across all test takers while HSGPA is scaled locally within a school. In this study, the researchers propose that this…

As the Better Math Teaching Network (BMTN) matured, different strategies for sharing network learning emerged. These strategies became more formalized and intentional as BMTN members developed tools and routines to spread the learning. Our multi-year evaluation sought to understand the affordances and constraints of each strategy. In the sections…

Scaling in educational settings has tended to focus on replication of external programs with less focus on the nature of adaptation. In this article, we explore the scaling of Personalization for Academic and Social-emotional Learning (PASL), a systemic high school reform effort that was intentionally identified, developed, and implemented with…

Teachers choosing between different models to facilitate students' understanding of an abstract system must decide whether to adopt a model that is simplified and striking or one that is realistic and complex. Only recently have instructional technologies enabled teachers and learners to change presentations swiftly and to provide for learning…

There is widespread concern about the reduction in the number of students in Australia studying calculus-based mathematics courses in the final year of secondary education. Over the last 20 years in New South Wales, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students studying general mathematics in place of calculus courses. The concern…

When competence tests are administered, subjects frequently omit items. These missing responses pose a threat to correctly estimating the proficiency level. Newer model-based approaches aim to take nonignorable missing data processes into account by incorporating a latent missing propensity into the measurement model. Two assumptions are typically…