The standard errors of the 2 most widely used population-invariance measures of equating functions, root mean square difference (RMSD) and root expected mean square difference (REMSD), are not derived for common equating methods such as linear equating. Consequently, it is unknown how much noise is contained in these estimates. This paper…

Inspired by the research of Reading and Shaughnessy (2004), we modified an existing lesson from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This lesson, a variation on the "Gumball Task", gives students the opportunity to explore and discuss the variation which occurs in sampling. This paper describes our experience using this lesson as an…

This article discusses replication sampling variance estimation techniques that are often applied in analyses using data from complex sampling designs: jackknife repeated replication, balanced repeated replication, and bootstrapping. These techniques are used with traditional analyses such as regression, but are currently not used with structural…

We describe an easy-to-employ, hands-on demonstration using playing cards to illustrate the central limit theorem. This activity allows students to see how a collection of sample means drawn from a nonnormally distributed population will be normally distributed. Students who took part in the demonstration reported it to be helpful in understanding…

One of the main objectives in meta-analysis is to estimate the overall effect size by calculating a confidence interval (CI). The usual procedure consists of assuming a standard normal distribution and a sampling variance defined as the inverse of the sum of the estimated weights of the effect sizes. But this procedure does not take into account…

Examined in this study were the effects of reducing anchor test length on student proficiency rates for 12 multiple-choice tests administered in an annual, large-scale, high-stakes assessment. The anchor tests contained 15 items, 10 items, or five items. Five content representative samples of items were drawn at each anchor test length from a…

Background/Context: Arizona's most recent English Language Learner (ELL) legislation, starting in the school year 2008-2009, requires all such students be educated through a specific Structured English Immersion (SEI) model: the 4-hour English Language Development (ELD) block. The basic premise behind this particular model is that ELL students…

The "Montana K-12 & School Choice Survey" project, commissioned by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research, Inc. (BRI), measures Montana registered voters' familiarity and views on a range of K-12 education topics and school choice reforms. The author and his colleagues report response levels…

Purpose: Recent educational research has demonstrated rural-urban gaps in achievement and schooling conditions. Evidence from developing countries is still sparse. This study seeks to report rural-urban disparities in achievement, student, teacher, and school characteristics based on a nationally representative sample of grade four students from…

The study examined the Influence of Secondary School Head Teachers' General and Instructional Supervisory Practices on Teachers' Work Performance. Qualitative and qualitative methods with a descriptive-correlational research approach were used in the study. Purposive sampling technique alongside random sampling technique was used to select the…

This Policy Research Brief proposes an organizational framework for understanding the characteristics of Postsecondary Education (PSE) programs for persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and the relationship of those characteristics to outcomes. The adoption of such a taxonomy could increase understanding of the variety of…

This qualitative study was based on grounded theory and used purposive sampling for selecting participants. The sample for this study included 12 of the 16 superintendents in this region. This rural Appalachian region has historically outperformed the remainder of the southeastern state on reading and math achievement tests at the elementary and…

Understanding how policy can affect university education is important for understanding how governments can promote human capital accumulation. This paper exploits historic changes to university funding policies in the UK to estimate the impact of tuition fees and maintenance grants on university participation. Previous work on this, which largely…

More than two decades of debate since the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) adopted the term information literacy have been marked by ongoing criticism of its associated definitions and standards. Some scholars and practitioners have argued for a critical information literacy, which applies the precepts of critical pedagogy to…

It is hoped that implementing educational technology (ET) into academic curriculums will close the achievement gap among ethnically and socioeconomically (SES) diverse students. California public schools have arranged for instructional classrooms to be stored with information communication technology (ICT) resources. Even so, there is inequity in…