We conduct a randomised control trial at an Italian university to investigate the impact of test anxiety on high-stakes exams. Students are subjected to two different interventions -- silence and music -- designed to influence their pre-test anxiety levels. We monitored and compared individual biomarkers before and after each treatment to measure…

In international large-scale assessments, student performance comparisons across educational systems are frequently done to assess the state and development in different domains. These results often have a large impact on educational policy and on the perceptions of an educational system's performance. Early assessments, such as the First and…

This paper uses data from the largest college application platform in the U.S. to describe application and enrollment changes in response to widespread test-optional admissions adoption between 2018-2021. Although test-optional policies aimed to expand college access, underrepresented students did not apply to Elite colleges at higher rates and…

Background: Computational thinking (CT) is an essential skill for preparing the younger generation to succeed in an AI-driven world, with pair programming emerging as a widely used approach to foster these skills. However, the role of individual factors and mutual engagement in shaping CT skills within pair programming remains underexplored,…

The current study aims to evaluate the performance of three non-IRT procedures (i.e., normal approximation, Livingston-Lewis, and compound multinomial) for estimating classification indices when the observed score distribution shows atypical patterns: (a) bimodality, (b) structural (i.e., systematic) bumpiness, or (c) structural zeros (i.e., no…

In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Michael Bunch provides an in-depth, step-by-step look at how standard setting is done. It does not focus on any specific procedure or methodology (e.g., modified Angoff, bookmark, and body of work) but on the practical tasks that must be completed for any standard setting activity. Dr. Bunch carries the…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of interdependent and independent group contingencies on pre-service teachers' performance on class quizzes that reflected their knowledge of evidence-based practices for students with extensive support needs. In the interdependent condition, the course instructor awarded extra credit…

This study builds on the simulation framework of a recent paper by Stanley and Doucouliagos ("Research Synthesis Methods" 2023;14;515--519). S&D use simulations to make the argument that meta-analyses using partial correlation coefficients (PCCs) should employ a "suboptimal" estimator of the PCC standard error when…

When randomized control trials are not possible, quasi-experimental methods often represent the gold standard. One quasi-experimental method is difference-in-difference (DiD), which compares changes in outcomes before and after treatment across groups to estimate a causal effect. DiD researchers often use fairly exhaustive robustness checks to…

Research shows that third-grade reading proficiency is the most significant predictor of future success, including graduation rates, earning potential, crime, and health. Mastery of foundational literacy skills during preschool bolsters students' ability to learn to read before fourth grade when the transition from learning to read to reading to…

We develop a "latent variable forest" (LV Forest) algorithm for the estimation of latent variable scores with one or more latent variables. LV Forest estimates unbiased latent variable scores based on "confirmatory factor analysis" (CFA) models with ordinal and/or numerical response variables. Through parametric model…

In this study, we introduced a cross-classified multidimensional nominal response model (CC-MNRM) to account for various response styles (RS) in the presence of cross-classified data. The proposed model allows slopes to vary across items and can explore impacts of observed covariates on latent constructs. We applied a recently developed variant of…

Background: Although the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Short Form (DASS-21) was developed for adults, its authors noted no compelling reasons to not use the measure with youth as young as 12 years. Despite increasingly widespread use with youth, psychometric evidence in support of its use with this population needs to be investigated to fully…

Cross-national comparisons of educational achievement rely upon each participating country collecting nationally representative data. While obtaining high response rates is a key part of reaching this goal, other potentially important factors may also be at play. This paper focuses on one such issue--exclusion rates--which has received relatively…

This paper examines the scalability of the results from the Tennessee Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project, a prominent educational experiment. We explore how the misalignment between the experimental design and the econometric model affects researchers' ability to learn about the intervention's scalability. We document heterogeneity…