In this article, the author argues that student data is more than just test scores. Alex Kajitani notes that data matter because they provide crucial information to teachers that enable them to better serve their students. Teachers can use data to determine students' strengths and areas of need. The effective use of data means being able to…

When many people hear the term "big data", they primarily think of a technology tool for the collection and reporting of data of high variety, volume, and velocity. However, the complexity of big data is not only the technology, but the supporting processes, policies, and people supporting it. This paper was written by three experts to…

The South Dakota Department of Education (DOE) collects education records from local schools and districts in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations. This policy document establishes the procedures and protocols for accessing, maintaining, disclosing, and disposing of confidential data records, including data records containing…

The purpose of this study was to understand how shared norms are developed in the early phase of multicultural team (MCT) formation. The development of shared norms is recognized as critical to MCTs' contributions to organizations, and they are a result of the cognitive adjustment of the team members in recognition of their differences (Brandl…

Amid a growing debate over the use of standardized test scores, states and districts across the country have begun using alternative measures of school quality, including surveys of students and teachers. As a result, many schools now have access to troves of diagnostic data on student and teacher perception. However, with few established…

This research note discusses opportunities and challenges of using online survey engines for social network analysis (SNA) data collection and assessing sample size and representativeness. The discussion is based on a case study of SNA data collection for a pilot research on health-relevant policy networks in Canada. Our approach demonstrates how…

Short message service (SMS or text messaging) surveys can collect data quickly and inexpensively. However, SMS surveys have space constraints that pose difficulties to questionnaire designers: Questions can only be 160 characters or less, surveys must be short, and many respondents use phones with small screens. In this article, we compare SMS and…

The present study examines bias in parameter estimates and standard error in cross-classified random effect modeling (CCREM) caused by omitting the random interaction effects of the cross-classified factors, focusing on the effect of a sample size within cells and ratio of a small cell. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to compare the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the METAL project, a French open learning analytics (LA) project for secondary school, that aims at improving the quality of teaching. The originality of METAL is that it relies on research through exploratory activities and focuses on all the aspects of a learning analytics environment.…

Cloud computing offers developers of learning environments access to unprecedented amounts of learner data. This makes possible "data-driven development" (D[superscript 3]) of learning environments. In the D[superscript 3] approach the learning environment is a data collection tool as well a learning tool. It continually collects data…

Mechanisms causing item nonresponses in large-scale assessments are often said to be nonignorable. Parameter estimates can be biased if nonignorable missing data mechanisms are not adequately modeled. In trend analyses, it is plausible for the missing data mechanism and the percentage of missing values to change over time. In this article, we…

Research focusing on school climate has shown that healthy, safe, and positive school environments are associated with improved psychological, social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for secondary students. For this reason, it is important for schools to understand how to improve perceptions of school climate through effective, evidence-based…

With national graduation rates that range from 32% among open enrollment institutions to 66% among private not-for-profits, higher education institutions have a moral imperative to improve the success of their students. Interventions to support today's students must consider the student holistically, be just-in-time, and come from a…

The South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Technology stipulates that Technology should provide learners with the opportunity to solve authentic problems that are embedded in real-life experiences. Solving these authentic technological problems requires learners to use critical thinking skills and teachers are expected to…

Data reproducibility is becoming increasingly important in the social sciences, but it has yet to be incorporated into many undergraduate sociology programs. This note describes a service-learning activity that can be added to an introductory statistics course. Students partner with a nonprofit and analyze quantitative data to answer questions…