Conventional estimators for indirect effects using a difference in coefficients and product of coefficients produce the same results for continuous outcomes. However, for binary outcomes, the difference in coefficient estimator systematically underestimates the indirect effects because of a scaling problem. One solution is to standardize…

One of the primary goals of international large-scale assessments in education is the comparison of country means in student achievement. This article introduces a framework for discussing differential item functioning (DIF) for such mean comparisons. We compare three different linking methods: concurrent scaling based on full invariance,…

Survey data are usually of mixed type (quantitative, multistate categorical, and/or binary variables). Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is one of the most extended methodologies to visualize the profile structure of the data. Since the past 60s, MDS methods have been introduced in the literature, initially in publications in the psychometrics area.…

Increasing use of item pools in large-scale educational assessments calls for an appropriate scaling procedure to achieve a common metric among field-tested items. The present study examines scaling procedures for developing a new item pool under a spiraled block linking design. The three scaling procedures are considered: (a) concurrent…

During spatial reorientation, the use of local geometric cues (e.g., corner angles) and global geometric cues (e.g., principal axis) is differentially influenced by enclosure size. Local geometric cues exert more influence in large enclosures compared to small enclosures, whereas the use of global geometric cues is not influenced by changes in…

The purpose of this study was to compare the reading skills of the fourth graders who were poor readers in different text genres (story and informative text). Fifty-six fourth-grade students who were poor readers participated in this study. Reading rates, reading errors and reading prosody characteristics of the students were examined in the…

An essential feature of the linear logistic test model (LLTM) is that item difficulties are explained using item design properties. By taking advantage of this explanatory aspect of the LLTM, in a mixture extension of the LLTM, the meaning of latent classes is specified by how item properties affect item difficulties within each class. To improve…

Many researchers and educationist remain skeptical about the effectiveness of distance learning program and have termed it as second to the conventional training method. This perception is largely due to several challenges which exist within the management of distance learning program across the country. The general aim of the study is compare the…

The purpose of the current study is to examine the mediation role of academic achievement and absenteeism in the relationship between multidimensional amotivation and intention to school dropout among Turkish high school students. The results have shown that multidimensional amotivation has direct and indirect effects on intention to school…

The purpose of this casual-comparative study was to assess the effectiveness of Academy of READING® (AOR) on eighth grade Response to Intervention students using third nine-week benchmark scaled score and Criterion Reference Competency Test scaled score. The data collected from a public middle-school in rural Georgia revealed how student…

Introduction: Research to date on social support for adolescents with visual impairments (that is, blindness or low vision) has been primarily carried out in developed countries, and very little is known about the social support systems that are available for such adolescents in developing countries such as those in the Arab world. In the present…

Universities are challenged with finding ways to motivate the increasing number of diverse students so that the largest number of students can be expected to succeed. University success is measured by retention and graduation rates, which affect profit. A lack of academic motivation among increasingly diverse students influences student retention,…

With approximately 30 million students the Chinese higher education system is the largest in the world. In every publicly funded institution there is a communist party secretary, however, little is known about these party secretaries. The purpose of the study was to understand who these people were. We collected data from 1,751 party secretaries…

In an attempt to influence students' appreciation of the value of research, the authors introduced a multidimensional scaling activity in a section of introductory psychology. In two consecutive 80-minute classes, 32 students worked in pairs, categorizing 20 crimes on the basis of similarity and coding their partner's responses, and then worked in…

The ability to purposefully access, reflect, and use evidence from educational research (Educational Research Literacy) is expected of future professionals in educational practice. Based on the presented conceptual framework, a test instrument was developed to assess the different competency aspects: Information Literacy, Statistical Literacy, and…