In this report, we perform an analysis of kindergarten readiness in Illinois and relate it to students' third grade academic achievement. We study two cohorts of Illinois kindergarteners and follow them into third grade using data provided by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). We summarize our key findings below: (1) Disparities appear…

The purpose of this study was to study the impact on student performance due to participation in the Catapult Learning Intervention program in the Mathematics services offered in a religious non-public school system in the Northeastern United States from grades K-2. Student scaled scores from the NWEA MAP assessments administered at the beginning…

In undergraduate research settings, students are likely to encounter anomalous data, that is, data that do not meet their expectations. Most of the research that directly or indirectly captures the role of anomalous data in research settings uses post-hoc reflective interviews or surveys. These data collection approaches focus on recall of past…

In Japan, school teachers experience mental health issues, leading to absences or leave from their duties. While extended working hours significantly contribute to this problem, diminished self-esteem has emerged as the primary causal factor. Reduced self-esteem is frequently correlated with diminished self-efficacy across multiple facets of…

This study examined changes of test anxiety under the reform of the examination system in Taiwan. We sampled 46,361 Grade 9 students in Taiwan for 9 consecutive years starting from 2011 to collect data on their test anxiety, cram school attendance frequency, and academic achievement. Students' test anxiety level was compared between three periods:…

Journalism's societal role hinges on effective communication, demanding proficient language skills. This study assesses a South African University of Technology's Department of Journalism, probing existing selection methods' efficacy in predicting success in two English modules. Concerns persist about these methods accurately identifying students…

Readers often struggle to identify the main ideas in expository texts. Existing research and instruction provide some guidance on how to encourage readers to identify main ideas. However, there is substantial variability in how main ideas are operationalized and how readers are prompted to identify main ideas. This variability hinders…

Edgenuity is a one of a multitude of digital support tools for instruction and intervention. In 2019,a School District in the South began using Edgenuity -- a digital intervention platform focused on grade and credit recovery. This current study evaluated Edgenuity to determine its effects on students learning and the associated cost. For the…

Longitudinal models of individual growth typically emphasize between-person predictors of change but ignore how growth may vary "within" persons because each person contributes only one point at each time to the model. In contrast, modeling growth with multi-item assessments allows evaluation of how relative item performance may shift…

Longitudinal models typically emphasize between-person predictors of change but ignore how growth varies "within" persons because each person contributes only one data point at each time. In contrast, modeling growth with multi-item assessments allows evaluation of how relative item performance may shift over time. While traditionally…

Replicable, aggregable, data- supported (RAD) research has become standard in writing center studies. Choice of research question is determined by local conditions and exigencies, often influenced by institutional assessment policy and national mandates. The methodology of choice in most writing center research is qualitative inquiry, though…

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale for determining the self-efficacy of teachers toward context-based science education. This study employed a survey design. The sample has formed 433 science teachers working in Kayseri province in the 2020-2021 spring semester. Firstly, an item pool of 85 items was developed by reviewing the…

School systems across the United States increasingly use performance-based assessments (PBAs) as alternatives to traditional standardized tests, like the SAT, to make post-secondary and workforce readiness (PWR) determinations. However, very little research has been conducted to validate such alternative assessments as valid indicators of a…

Differential item functioning (DIF) often arises from multiple sources. Within the context of multidimensional item response theory, this study examined DIF items with varying secondary dimensions using the three DIF methods: SIBTEST, Mantel-Haenszel, and logistic regression. The effect of the number of secondary dimensions on DIF detection rates…

As a crucial method in organizational and social behavior research, self-report surveys must manage method bias. Method biases are distorted scores in survey response, distorted variance in variables, and distorted relational estimates between variables caused by method designs. Studies on method bias have focused on "post hoc"…