James Soland
Mechanisms of Effect Size Differences Between Researcher Developed and Independently Developed Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis of Item-Level Data
Topics: MethodsDifferences in effect sizes between researcher developed (RD) and independently developed (ID) outcome measures are widely documented but poorly understood in education research. We conduct a meta-analysis using item-level outcome data to test potential mechanisms that explain differences in… more →
Latent Classes of Teacher Working Conditions in Virginia: Description, Teacher Preferences, and Contextual Factors
Many dimensions of teacher working conditions influence both teacher and student outcomes; yet, analyses of schools’ overall working conditions are challenged by high correlations among the dimensions. Our study overcame this challenge by applying latent profile analysis of Virginia teachers’… more →
Does Reclassification Change How English Learners Feel about School and Themselves? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design
Topics: Student LearningReclassification can be an important juncture in the academic experience of English Learners (ELs). Literature has explored the potential for reclassification to influence academic outcomes like achievement, yet its impact on social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, which are as malleable and… more →
Understanding Newcomer English Learner Students’ English Language Development: Comparisons and Predictors
Topics: Student LearningAn important subgroup of English learner-classified (EL) students immigrate to the U.S., entering U.S. schools upon their arrival. Using growth models and statewide data, this study asks first, how newcomers’ English proficiency status and growth compare to those of non-newcomer EL students; and… more →
Test Score Patterns Across Three COVID-19-impacted School Years
Topics: Student LearningThe COVID-19 pandemic has been a seismic and on-going disruption to K-12 schooling. Using test scores from 5.4 million U.S. students in grades 3-8, we tracked changes in math and reading achievement across the first two years of the pandemic. Average fall 2021 math test scores in grades 3-8 were… more →
The Forgotten 20 Percent: Achievement and Growth in Rural Schools Across the Nation
Topics: Student LearningNearly one in five U.S. students attends a rural school, yet we know very little about achievement gaps and academic growth in rural schools. This study leverages a unique dataset that includes longitudinal test scores for more than five million 3rd to 8th grade students in approximately 17,000… more →
Projecting the potential impacts of COVID-19 school closures on academic achievement
Topics: Student LearningWith 55 million students in the United States out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education systems are scrambling to meet the needs of schools and families, including planning how best to approach instruction in the fall given students may be farther… more →
The learning curve: Revisiting the assumption of linear growth across the school year
Topics: Student LearningImportant educational policy decisions, like whether to shorten or extend the school year, often require accurate estimates of how much students learn during the year. Yet, related research relies on a mostly untested assumption: that growth in achievement is linear throughout the entire… more →
Estimating Student Growth on Psychological and Social-emotional Constructs: A Comparison of Multiple Scoring Approaches
Topics: MethodsA huge portion of what we know about how humans develop, learn, behave, and interact is based on survey data. Researchers use longitudinal growth modeling to understand the development of students on psychological and social-emotional learning constructs across elementary and middle school. In… more →
Do Response Styles Affect Estimates of Growth on Social-emotional Constructs? Evidence from Four Years of Longitudinal Survey Scores
Topics: MethodsSurvey respondents use different response styles when they use the categories of the Likert scale differently despite having the same true score on the construct of interest. For example, respondents may be more likely to use the extremes of the response scale independent of their true… more →
Are Schools Deemed Effective Based on Overall Student Growth Also Closing Achievement Gaps? Examining the Black-White Gap in Schools
Topics: MethodsResearch has begun to investigate whether teachers and schools are as effective with certain student subgroups as they are with the overall student population. Most of this research has examined the issue by trying to produce causal estimates of school contributions to short-term student… more →
Effect Sizes for Measuring Student and School Growth in Achievement: In Search of Practical Significance
Topics: MethodsTags:Effect sizes in the Cohen’s d family are often used in education to compare estimates across studies, measures, and sample sizes. For example, effect sizes are used to compare gains in achievement students make over time, either in pre- and post-treatment studies or in the absence… more →
Trends in Children’s Academic Skills at School Entry: 2010 to 2017
Topics: Student LearningStudents’ level of academic skills at school entry are a strong predictor of later academic success, and focusing on improving these skills during the preschool years has been a priority during the past ten years. Evidence from two prior nationally representative studies indicated that incoming… more →