Measuring the Immeasurable: Statistics, Intelligence, and Education

EducationalTopicsintelligence and education concepts such as mathematical proficiency have their statistical equivalent in so-called latent variables, i.e., variables which cannot be observed directly. To gain insights into learning processes, the same latent variable is measured repeatedly, resulting in a so-called ‘latent learning trajectory’. Often, the learning trajectory of an average student is of interest, say to understand effects of programs on a group of students. However, a student’s deviation from the mean trajectory is also important to quantify to assign individualized measures. The present chapter provides details on a flexible statistical model for the description of general increases or decreases as well as individual deviations.