This article proposes a flexible extension of the Fay--Herriot model for making inferences from coarsened, group-level achievement data, for example, school-level data consisting of numbers of students falling into various ordinal performance categories. The model builds on the heteroskedastic ordered probit (HETOP) framework advocated by Reardon,…

The ability of a scientific discipline to build cumulative knowledge depends on its predominant method of data analysis. A steady accumulation of knowledge requires approaches which allow researchers to consider results from comparable prior research. Bayesian statistics is especially relevant for establishing a cumulative scientific discipline,…

Learning new vocabulary from context typically requires multiple encounters during which word meaning can be retrieved from memory or inferred from context. We compared the effect of memory retrieval and context inferences on short- and long-term retention in three experiments. Participants studied novel words and then practiced the words either…

Word learning from linguistic context is essential for vocabulary growth from grade school onward; however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying successful word learning in children. Current methods for studying word learning development require children to identify the meaning of the word after each exposure, a method that interacts…

This mixed methods study investigates the effect of cultural and sociolinguistic textures of talk on authentic discussion patterns and whether reading comprehension and inferencing are affected in an online booktalk environment with adolescents. The research will also investigate the contextual features of the classroom community to be studied to…

This study explores the role of a particular social cue--the "sequence" of demonstrated actions and events--in preschooler's categorization. A demonstrator sorted objects that varied on both a surface feature (color) and a nonobvious property (sound made when shaken). Children saw a sequence of actions in which the nonobvious property…

We explore the relationship between the "theory of mind" (ToM) and "central coherence" difficulties of autism. We introduce covariation between hierarchically-embedded categories and social information--at the local level, the global level, or at both levels simultaneously--within a category confusion task. We then ask…

This special issue of "Assessment in Education" contains the type of debate needed about what Cizek (2015) calls a "… lingering flaw in the concept of validity…." Some practitioners might not agree that the current theory of validation is flawed. Specifically, the debate Jon Twing is referencing concerns the role of the…

In this paper, we investigate mathematics majors' perceptions of the admissibility of inferences based on graphical reasoning for calculus proofs. The main findings from our study is that the majority of mathematics majors did not think that graphical perceptual inferences (i.e., inferences based on the appearance of the graph) were permissible in…

Reading comprehension performance is predicted by decoding skill and linguistic comprehension (e.g., Hoover & Gough, 1990; Joshi & Aaron, 2012; Scarborough, 2001). However, the type of strategies that readers recruit to build a discourse should also contribute to success in first and second language reading comprehension. Sixty-six French…

The Less-Is-More hypothesis was proposed to explain age-of-acquisition effects in first language (L1) and second language (L2) learning. We scrutinize different renditions of the hypothesis by examining how learning outcomes are affected by (a) limited cognitive capacity, (b) reduced interference resulting from less prior knowledge, and (c)…

In this study, we developed a Reading for Meaning special education teacher observation rubric that detailed the elements of evidence-based comprehension instruction and tested its psychometric properties using many-facet Rasch measurement. We collected video observations of classroom instruction from 10 special education teachers across 3 states…

We tested the capability of deaf adolescents, including a group of users of cochlear implants, to generate inferences during spoken language comprehension and whether they benefited from the use of sign-supported speech (SSS). Stimuli consisted of 24 short video-recorded texts in spoken language and in SSS. Participants responded to literal and…

Informal inference is a critical practice for students to engage in if they are to understand formal statistical methods. However, during informal inference students often utilize complex ideas that many in-service teachers are not prepared for as they have not had the opportunity to think deeply about statistics and develop statistical knowledge…

Explaining phenomena is a primary goal of science. Consequently, it is unsurprising that gaining a proper understanding of the nature of explanation is an important goal of science education. In order to properly understand explanation, however, it is not enough to simply consider theories of the nature of explanation. Properly understanding…