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Phantom effects in school composition research : Consequences of failure to control biases due to measurement error in traditional multilevel models
Televantou, Ioulia Marsh, Herbert Kyriakides, Leonidas Nagengast, Benjamin Fletcher, John Malmberg, Lars-Erik
Televantou, Ioulia
Marsh, Herbert
Kyriakides, Leonidas
Nagengast, Benjamin
Fletcher, John
Malmberg, Lars-Erik
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to quantify the impact of failing to account for measurement error on school compositional effects. Multilevel structural equation models were incorporated to control for measurement error and/or sampling error. Study 1, a large sample of English primary students in Years 1 and 4, revealed a significantly negative compositional effect associated with school-average achievement that became more negative after controlling for measurement error. Study 2, a large study of Cypriot primary students in Year 4, showed a small, positive but statistically significant compositional effect that became non-significant after controlling for measurement error. Our findings have important methodological, substantive, and theoretical implications for on-going debates on the school compositional effects on students’ outcomes, because nearly all previous research has been based on traditional approaches to multilevel models, which are positively biased, due to the failure to control for measurement error.
Keywords
Date
2015
Type
Journal article
Journal
School Effectiveness and School Improvement: an international journal of research, policy and practice
Book
Volume
26
Issue
1
Page Range
75-101
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled