As applications of multilevel modelling in educational research increase, researchers realize that multilevel data collected in many educational settings are often not purely nested. The most common multilevel non-nested data structure is one that involves student mobility in longitudinal studies. This article provides a methodological review of…

Growing evidence suggests that contrary to popular belief, schools mostly do not generate achievement gaps in cognitive skills but, rather, reflect the inequalities that already exist. In the case of socioeconomic status, exposure to school often reduces gaps. Surprisingly little is known, however, about whether this pattern extends to gender gaps…

We examined to what extent subgroups of students identified with learning disabilities (LDs; N = 630) in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998 to 1999 (ECLS-K): 1998 national longitudinal study displayed heterogeneity in longitudinal profiles of reading and mathematics achievement from first to eighth grades.…

Although there is evidence to suggest that parent involvement (PI) in children's education positively impacts their academic success, the mechanisms of this effect are less well studied. One potential mechanism is a set of student-level motivational and behavioral factors labeled approaches to learning (ATL). The purpose of the current study was…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011) is the third in a series of longitudinal studies of young children conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. The ECLS-K:2011 collected information about the early…

Students of color are underrepresented in gifted programs relative to White students, but the reasons for this underrepresentation are poorly understood. We investigate the predictors of gifted assignment using nationally representative, longitudinal data on elementary students. We document that even among students with high standardized test…

The present study used multiple regression analyses to examine the relationships between fifth-grade social skills and eighth-grade academic achievement. Data were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). Results indicated no relationship between positive or negative social behavior in fifth grade…

Given the importance of federal legislation in combating educational inequities, particularly those in reading development, the identification of specific school-based variables that contribute to reading proficiency for struggling readers is paramount. While federal education policy, such as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (2002)…

Background/Context: The age at which children can enter kindergarten continues to be discussed in both educational research and practice, and the debate for whether to increase kindergarten entry age remains active on both sides. A critical oversight has been the lack of attention paid towards entry age for those students who begin school with a…

A recent wave of research suggests that teachers overrate the performance of girls relative to boys and hold more positive attitudes toward girls' mathematics abilities. However, these prior estimates of teachers' supposed female bias are potentially misleading because these estimates (and teachers themselves) confound achievement with teachers'…