Laura Stapleton

Research Interests

Analysis of administrative data and survey data obtained under complex sampling designs, multilevel latent variable models, tests of mediation within a multilevel framework

Bio

Laura M. Stapleton is a Professor in Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation (EDMS) in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland. Additionally, she serves as the Associate Director of the Research Branch of the Maryland State Longitudinal Data System Center. She joined the faculty of EDMS in Fall 2011 after being on the faculty in Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and in Educational Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. Each year she also serves on the faculty of the National Center for Education Research (NCER) funded Summer Research Training Institute on Cluster Randomized Trials at Northwestern University. Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation from the University of Maryland in 2001, she was an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and, subsequently, conducted educational research at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and as Associate Director of institutional research at the University of Maryland.

Fellowships

Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey, Gulliksen Psychometric Fellowship, 2000 – 2001

Honors & Awards

Outstanding Director of Graduate Studies, University of Maryland Graduate School, 2018

Faculty Mentor of the Year, University of Maryland Graduate School, 2017

College of Education Senate Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2015-16

Elected Membership to the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology, 2016

9^th Annual University-Wide Celebration of Scholarship and Research Honoree, 2016

Outstanding Reviewer, American Educational Research Journal, 2015

Publications

Leite, W. L., Stapleton, L. M., & Bettini, E. F. (in press). Propensity score analysis of complex survey data with structural equation modeling: A tutorial with Mplus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal.

McNeish, D. M., Stapleton, L. M., & Silverman, R. (2017). On the unnecessary ubiquity of hierarchical linear modeling. Psychological Methods, 22,114-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/met0000078

Stapleton, L. M., McNeish, D. M., & Yang, J.-S. (2016). Multi-level and single-level models for measured and latent variables when data are clustered. Educational Psychologist, 51, 317-330. doi: 10.1080/00461520.2016.1207178

Stapleton, L. M., Yang, J. S., & Hancock, G. R. (2016). Construct meaning in multilevel settings. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.3102/1076998616646200

Stapleton, L. M., & Kang, Y. (2016). Design effects of multilevel estimates from national probability samples. Sociological Methods & Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0049124116630563

Grants & Projects

Institute for Education Sciences; National Center for Education Research, 2018-2020, Exploring Links Between Arts Education and Academic Outcomes in the International Baccalaureate, PI: Dr. Ken Elpus, UMCP

National Science Foundation; Developmental Science, 2017 – 2020, Promoting Intergroup Relationships and Reducing Prejudice in Childhood, PI: Dr. Melanie Killen, UMCP

Institute for Education Sciences; National Center for Education Research, 2016 – 2019, Cognitive and Motivational Contributors to Reading Comprehension in English Learners (ELs) and English Monolinguals (EMs): Different or Similar Growth Patterns? (R305A160280), PI: Dr. Ana Taboada, UMCP

Institute for Education Sciences; State Longitudinal Data Systems, 2015 – 2019, Feasibility of Synthetic Data for Population-Averaged and Cluster-Specific Analyses by Researchers Utilizing Integrated State Longitudinal Data Systems (R372A150045)

Institute for Education Sciences; National Center for Special Education Research, 2015 – 2018, Improving Content Area Instruction in Middle Schools; Project CALI (R324A150181), PI: Dr. Jade Wexler, UMCP

Courses

EDMS647 Causal Inference and Evaluation Methods

EDMS655 Multilevel Modeling