There is increasing interest in using factor scores in structural equation models and there have been numerous methodological papers on the topic. Nevertheless, sum scores, which are computed from adding up item responses, continue to be ubiquitous in practice. It is therefore important to compare simulation results involving factor scores to…

Latent variable structural equation modeling has become the analytic method of choice in many domains of research in psychology and allied social sciences. One important aspect of a latent variable model concerns the relations hypothesized to hold between latent variables and their indicators. The most common specification of structural equation…

Growth mixture modeling (GMM) has become a more popular statistical method for modeling population heterogeneity in longitudinal data, but the performance characteristics of GMM enumeration indexes in correctly identifying heterogeneous growth trajectories are largely unknown. Few empirical studies have addressed this issue. This study considered…

Structural equation models are commonly used to estimate relationships between latent variables. Almost universally, the fitted models specify that these relationships are linear in form. This assumption is rarely checked empirically, largely for lack of appropriate diagnostic techniques. This article presents and evaluates two procedures that can…

Parameter recovery was assessed within mixture confirmatory factor analysis across multiple estimator conditions under different simulated levels of mixture class separation. Mixture class separation was defined in the measurement model (through factor loadings) and the structural model (through factor variances). Maximum likelihood (ML) via the…

Latent difference score models (e.g., McArdle & Hamagami, 2001) are extended to include effects from prior changes to subsequent changes. This extension of latent difference scores allows for testing hypotheses where recent changes, as opposed to recent levels, are a primary predictor of subsequent changes. These models are applied to…

Maxwell and Cole (2007) showed that cross-sectional approaches to mediation typically generate substantially biased estimates of longitudinal parameters in the special case of complete mediation. However, their results did not apply to the more typical case of partial mediation. We extend their previous work by showing that substantial bias can…

Meta-analysis is the statistical analysis of a collection of analysis results from individual studies, conducted for the purpose of integrating the findings. Structural equation modeling (SEM), on the other hand, is a multivariate technique for testing hypothetical models with latent and observed variables. This article shows that fixed-effects…

This article investigates three types of stage-sequential growth mixture models in the structural equation modeling framework for the analysis of multiple-phase longitudinal data. These models can be important tools for situations in which a single-phase growth mixture model produces distorted results and can allow researchers to better understand…

Despite the recent increase of structural equation modeling (SEM) in language testing and learning research and Kunnan's (1998) call for the proper use of SEM to produce useful findings, there seem to be no reviews about how SEM is applied in these areas or about the extent to which the current application accords with appropriate practices. To…

In this commentary, we demonstrate how the potential outcomes framework can help understand the key identification assumptions underlying causal mediation analysis. We show that this framework can lead to the development of alternative research design and statistical analysis strategies applicable to the longitudinal data settings considered by…

Because structural equation models are widely used in testing and assessment, investigation into the accuracy of such models may help raise awareness of the value of reanalysis or replication. We focused on second language testing and learning studies and examined: (a) To what extent is information necessary for replication provided by authors?…

Maxwell, Cole, and Mitchell (2011) demonstrated that simple structural equation models, when used with cross-sectional data, generally produce biased estimates of meditated effects. I extend those results by showing how simple structural equation models can produce biased estimates of meditated effects when used even with longitudinal data. Even…

This report summarizes the complex research literature on quantitative methods for assessing how impacts of educational interventions on instructional practices and student learning differ across students, educators, and schools. It also provides technical guidance about the use and interpretation of these methods. The research topics addressed…

This study tested the veracity of a model of Mathematics Anxiety as the end-point of related self-regulatory and self-efficacy processes. Data were collected in India from 232, eighth grade students on the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and the Mathematics Anxiety Scale. Demographic information such as student' gender, age, marks…