Very often, we understand differences in literacy performance exclusively in terms of the skills that individuals bring to the literacy tasks they face. Drawing on a new, highly integrative theory of functional literacy--the text-task-respondent (TTR) theory--this article presents a set of seven literacy skills that are required for everyday…

This paper proposes a structural analysis for generalized linear models when some explanatory variables are measured with error and the measurement error variance is a function of the true variables. The focus is on latent variables investigated on the basis of questionnaires and estimated using item response theory models. Latent variable…

A branch of mathematics commonly used in cryptography is Galois Fields GF(p[superscript n]). Two basic operations performed in GF(p[superscript n]) are the addition and the multiplication. While the addition is generally easy to compute, the multiplication requires a special treatment. A well-known method to compute the multiplication is based on…

Using multitrait, multimethod data, and confirmatory factor analysis, the current study examined the effects of arithmetic item formatting and the possibility that across formats, abilities other than arithmetic may contribute to children's answers. Measurement hypotheses were guided by several leading theories of arithmetic cognition. With a…

Incorporating new methods and approaches in learning environments is imperative to the development of education systems. By enhancing learning processes, education becomes more attainable at all levels. "The Handbook of Research on Instructional Systems and Educational Technology" is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly…

In this meta-analysis, the impact of writing interventions on the quality of writing produced by students with learning disabilities (LD) was assessed. Ancestral and electronic searches were used to locate experimental, quasi-experimental, and within-subjects design studies with participants in Grades 1-12 with documented LD. The effects of…

Calculators are widely used in mathematics education, yet limited research examines the effects of calculators for students with mild intellectual disability. An alternating treatments design was used to study the effects of calculator types (i.e., scientific and graphing) on the mathematical performance (i.e., computation and word problems) of…

Problem Statement: There has recently been interest in educational databases containing a variety of valuable but sometimes hidden data that can be used to help less successful students to improve their academic performance. The extraction of hidden information from these databases often implements aspects of the educational data mining (EDM)…

Mediation analysis is a statistical approach used to examine how the effect of an independent variable on an outcome is transmitted through an intervening variable (mediator). In this article, we provide a gentle introduction to single-level and multilevel mediation analyses. Using single-level data, we demonstrate an application of structural…

Although Bayesian methodology has become a powerful approach for describing uncertainty, it has largely been avoided in undergraduate statistics education. Here we demonstrate that one can present Bayes' Rule in the classroom through a hypothetical, yet realistic, legal scenario designed to spur the interests of students in introductory- and…

School districts and state departments of education frequently must choose between a variety of methods to estimating teacher quality. This paper examines under what circumstances the decision between estimators of teacher quality is important. We examine estimates derived from student growth percentile measures and estimates derived from commonly…

Recent changes to state laws on accountability have prompted school districts to design teacher performance evaluation systems that incorporate student achievement (student growth) as a major component. As a consequence, some states and districts are considering teacher value-added models as part of teacher performance evaluations. Value-added…

The 2011 study, "Benefits of Practicing 4 = 2 + 2: Nontraditional Problem Formats Facilitate Children's Understanding of Mathematical Equivalence," examined the effects of addition practice using nontraditional problem formats on students' understanding of mathematical equivalence. In nontraditional problem formats, operations appear on…

Mode estimation, the visual determination of the proportions of the components of a rock, is a valuable tool in geology, providing one of the most efficient means of describing rock mineralogy and chemistry. However, current methods of teaching mode estimation suffer from the often-mediocre mode-estimation skills of the instructors. Fifty-nine…

Learning through meaningful problem solving is integral in any successful mathematics program (Carpenter et al. 1999). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) promotes the use of problem solving as a means to deepen understanding of all content areas within mathematics (NCTM 2000). This article describes a first-grade lesson that…