NAEP researcher David Bamat recently published a new research article, “Closing Reporting Gaps: A Comparison of Methods for Estimating Unreported Subgroup Achievement on NAEP,” in Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives.

The article discusses results from a comparison of methods for predicting the mean NAEP achievement of minority subgroups when samples do not satisfy the “rule of 62.” The NAEP program only reports state-level subgroup results if it samples at least 62 students identifying with the subgroup. However, since some subgroups constitute small proportions of many states’ general student populations, these minority subgroups are seldom sufficiently sampled to meet this sample size requirement. Bamat’s article discusses ways to overcome these challenges associated with small sample sizes. It demonstrates that small area estimation, a statistical framework commonly used to overcome small sample limitations across other research disciplines, can be leveraged to compute accurate and reliable estimates of mean achievement when samples do not satisfy the rule of 62.

To check out this new article and learn more about its findings, access it here through Taylor & Francis Online. Alternatively, you can obtain a free e-print by contacting author David Bamat at dbamat@air.org. Don’t forget to subscribe to the NAEP R&D mailing list to stay updated on exciting developments, opportunities, and publications in the world of NAEP research.