The purpose of this study is to lay a foundation for illustrating the importance of longitudinal data collection by sharing the results of the Independent Monitoring for Quality (IM4Q) program in Pennsylvania designed to collect data over time on the quality of services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In this article,…

We examined developmental trajectories of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, standardized achievement, and school performance for adolescents with and without ADHD who did and did not enroll in postsecondary education (PSE; N = 749; 79% boys; 63% White, 17% non-Hispanic Black, 10% Hispanic, and 10% other ethnicities). In a…

Despite widespread interest in the construct of executive functioning (EF), we currently lack definitive evidence regarding the best measurement model for representing the construct in substantive analyses. The most common practice is to represent EF ability as a reflective latent variable, with child performance on individual EF tasks as observed…

Using data from a large longitudinal sample (N = 1,292) of children and their caregivers in predominantly low-income, nonurban communities, we investigated longitudinal relations between attuned caregiving in infancy, joint attention in toddlerhood, and executive functions in early childhood. The results from path analysis demonstrated that…

Why does a public high school, despite having resources and educators with good intentions, end up graduating English learners (ELs) without preparing them for college and career? This book answers this question through a longitudinal ethnographic case study of a diverse high school in Pennsylvania. The author takes the reader on a journey with…

A goal of introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) curricula is to prepare students to effectively use physical models and quantitative reasoning in biological and medical settings. To assess whether this goal is being met, we conducted a longitudinal study of the impact of IPLS on student work in later biology and chemistry courses. We…

Background: The Student Assistance Program (SAP) is mandated kindergarten to 12th grade in Pennsylvania schools to address barriers to student academic success. Following student referral, SAP teams use a systematic process to inform recommendations for school or community-based services. To evaluate program outcomes, a review of student SAP…

Previous studies suggest that the roots of school dropout (a) can be established early in life, (b) are likely to involve multilevel factors (home, child, classroom) operating prior to and during the elementary school years, and (c) can be identified by 3rd grade. The decision to drop out of school is thus a dynamic developmental process that can…

Few longitudinal studies examine how "changes" in parent-child relationships are associated with changes in youth internalizing problems. In this longitudinal study, we investigated how developmental trends (linear change) and year-to-year lability (within-person fluctuations) in parental warmth and hostility across Grades 6 to 8 predict…

The social studies data of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) highlighted some alarming results. These results highlight a trend in the learning of social studies related content within today's secondary schools. Students are mastering and retaining less social studies knowledge while other content areas are slowly…

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO) "Communities of Practice" project builds upon SHEEO's ongoing efforts to measure the capacity and effective use of state postsecondary data systems and provides states with opportunities to develop solutions to common issues with those systems. The sixth Community of…

In line with family systems theory, we examined patterns of hostile interactions within families and their associations with externalizing problems among early-adolescent children. Using hostility scores based on observational data of six dyadic interactions during a triadic interaction (n = 462; i.e., child-to-mother, mother-to-child,…

Background: There is limited research examining the efficacy of early physical therapy on infants with neuromotor dysfunction. In addition, most early motor interventions have not been directly linked to learning, despite the clear association between motor activity and cognition during infancy. Objective: The aim of this project is to evaluate…

According to family systems and life course theories, periods of intense change, such as early adolescence, can disrupt stable family systems, leading to changes in family relationships. In this longitudinal study, we investigate 2 types of change in parental hostility and warmth toward their children during early adolescence (Grades 6 to…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…