Background/Context: Social network analysis has been used to demonstrate an association between individuals' relationships and their engagement in areas such as public health (Perry & Pescosolido, 2015) and teacher professional development (Penuel, 2009). We extend and apply this approach to the higher education context. We operationalize…

Nearly all undergraduate biology courses rely on quizzes and exams. Despite their prevalence, very little work has been done to explore how the framing of assessment questions may influence student performance and affect. Here, we conduct a quasi-random experimental study where students in different sections of the same course were given…

Cultural mismatch theory of inequality and associated research indicates that a mismatch between independent cultural norms of institutions of higher education and students' interdependent backgrounds account for disparities in academic achievement for students from historically underrepresented groups. Despite growing interest in interventions to…

Our objective was to develop a measure of healthcare providers' self-efficacy in providing healthcare to autistic adults and to better understand their training needs. We used a community-based participatory research approach with academic researchers, autistic adults, supporters, and healthcare providers. We developed a one-page questionnaire…

Compared to typical schools, implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) remains in its early stages with juvenile justice and alternative education settings, whether residential or day programs. As interest and support grows for implementation within juvenile justice and alternative education settings, the creation of…

This article compares Spanish proficiency assessments across three states (Texas, Arizona, and California) in relation to four overarching themes: (a) verification methods of proficiency; (b) test-task authenticity; (c) impact of pedagogical content knowledge in test performance; and (d) conceptions of language 'correctness' on the scoring…

Educators and researchers highlight the important role that math plays in providing opportunities for upward mobility in the United States (and globally). Many students from underrepresented communities, including Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and low-income students, often do not get the support they need to develop a positive math mindset, sense of…

Policy analysts have advocated for better licensure assessments to determine leadership candidate quality and improve readiness for school leadership roles. Through a professionally guided design team process, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) developed initial leadership assessments [three cycles of the California Administrator…

Measurement invariance is a prerequisite when comparing different groups of individuals or when studying a group of individuals across time. This assures that the same construct is assessed without measurement artifacts. This investigation applied a novel approach of simultaneous parameter linking to cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of…

Different versions of multiple-choice exams were administered to an undergraduate class in human physiology as part of normal testing in the classroom. The goal was to evaluate whether the number of options (possible answers) per question influenced the effectiveness of this assessment. Three exams (each with three versions) were given to each of…

Accessible instructional materials are materials which can be used by students with disabilities as easily, effectively, and thoroughly as students without disabilities. Unfortunately, policy evidence suggests the California Community Colleges are not ensuring instructional materials are accessible. Surprisingly, while accessibility is often…

Spanish speakers in the United States are a steadily increasing population, up by 233% since 1980. Given the growing population of dual language learners (DLLs) and the large numbers of Spanish-speaking children enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs, addressing the educational needs of preschool-aged DLLs has become a national imperative.…

Spanish speakers in the United States are a steadily increasing population, up by 233% since 1980. Given the growing population of dual language learners (DLLs) and the large numbers of Spanish-speaking children enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs, addressing the educational needs of preschool-aged DLLs has become a national imperative.…

Given the insufficient number of well-qualified future physics teachers in the U.S., physics programs often seek guidance for how to address this national need. Measurement tools can provide such guidance, by both defining excellence in physics teacher education (PTE) and providing a means to measure progress towards excellence. This paper…

Reflective supervision is increasingly mandated in evidence-based infant and early childhood programs and is, therefore, experiencing rapid expansion across the United States. The growing interest in reflective supervision has led to new questions about how to train, support, and gauge the competency of supervisors who are supporting and educating…