New technologies have led to several major advances in psychological research over the past few decades. Peer nomination research is no exception. Thanks to these technological innovations, computerized data collection is becoming more common in peer nomination research. However, computer-based assessment is more than simply programming the…

In this article Dave Vernier describes how he turned the total eclipse on August 21, 2017 into a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) lesson by taking data. He asked teachers and former teachers to join in collecting data and to share it. The most frequently monitored parameters were illuminance (a measure of light brightness as…

It is treated as a truism that teaching well requires "meeting students where they are". Data enable us to know better where that is. Data can improve instructional practice by informing predictions about which pedagogies will be most successful for which students, and it can improve advising practice by informing predictions about which…

The effective use of student data is essential for improving student outcomes and equipping educators with the information they need to help every student remain on a path to educational success. Student data can help teachers personalize and customize instruction, equip parents and students with information to make informed educational choices,…

This research improves the precision of information extraction from free-form text via the use of cognitive-based approaches to natural language processing (NLP). Cognitive-based approaches are an important, and relatively new, area of research in NLP and search, as well as linguistics. Cognitive approaches enable significant improvements in both…

Information seeking is "a conscious effort to acquire information in response to a need or gap" in your knowledge (Case, 2007, p. 5). In the geosciences, physical samples such as cores, cuttings, fossils, and rocks are primary sources of information; they represent "the foundation of basic and applied geoscience research and…

In 2012, the Vermont Agency of Education (Agency) was awarded a Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) grant from the United States Department of Education (USDOE). The nearly $4.95 Million SLDS grant award will be used to fund the Vermont Automated Data Reporting (VADR) project. The VADR project will establish a K-12 data system that will…

With thousands of U.S. troops still stationed in Afghanistan and other posts, the nation's armed forces continue to make significant sacrifices. So do their families. This NASBE policy update explores the unique challenges that military-connected students face and how state boards of education can ensure the success and well-being of these…

Many states struggle with collecting reliable and valid data that can be easily analyzed at the state level. This can be particularly challenging in states where schools and districts have local control over the selection of their assessment tools. This state spotlight presents the strategies that the Iowa Department of Education (IDE) used to…

Data quality has become a pressing issue for many campuses in recent years, as colleges struggle to extract timely, accurate, and consistent information from ever-proliferating institutional data sources in order to meet strategic decision-making and accountability demands. In this mixed methods study, a survey and semi-structured interviews were…

Before an assessment is used to make decisions, the validity of the intended interpretation must be evaluated. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the argument-based approach and an interpretation/use argument (IUA) (Kane, 2013) were used to validate the interpretations made from the new Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA)…

This case study describes a research project employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design investigating teachers' motivations, expectations, values, and teaching practices due to their attendance of an innovative Professional Development program in the United States. The Professional Development program, called Research Experience for…

Collecting the perfect data to answer a research question is optimal but not always feasible. Sometimes existing data can be leveraged to answer some questions, but this opportunity comes with important potential pitfalls. To test the effect of early life exposures such as being born preterm or living in a materially deprived neighborhood on early…

In the research project which formed part of my PhD study, I dealt with the topic of inequity in education. My main interest was to find out how (formal) educational careers can be fostered even if the starting position within the system is one which makes a successful educational career very difficult. Despite the fact that in the Austrian…

This account describes my research experiences as a doctoral student in education, seeking to understand what transition to Higher Education was like for undergraduate students. I was supported throughout the process by my colleague and supervisor Dr Jane Tobbell. I conducted ethnographic research and the case study provides an account of the…