D. Betsy McCoach
Associate Professor
Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment Program

Dr. Betsy McCoach is an associate professor in the Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment program, where she teaches coursework in educational statistics, measurement, and research design. Dr. McCoach has extensive experience in hierarchical linear modeling, and has used multilevel modeling techniques to analyze large national datasets. Dr. McCoach has co-teaches a weeklong workshop (with Ann O’Connell) on hierarchical linear modeling at the University of Connecticutas part of DATIC. This course is attended by researchers, professors, and graduate students who wish to learn to use multilevel techniques in their own research. She and Ann O'Connell have co-edited a book on Multilevel Modeling of Educational Data, available from Information Age Publishing. In addition, Dr. McCoach has extensive experience in the areas of instrument design, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Dr. McCoach serves as the research methodologist for the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Dr. McCoach is currently serving as the methodologist on a Federal Reading Comprehension Grant, Project IVI (PI: Michael Coyne). IVI focuses on increasing the vocabulary skills of at-risk kindergarten students. Dr. McCoach is also serves as the quantitative methodologist for a federal Javitz grant, examining the efficacy of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model- Reading Intervention to increase the reading achievement of elementary school students (PI: Dr. Sally Reis). Finally, Dr. McCoach serves as the methodologist for Content Based Vocabulary Instruction: Using Cognates to Promote the Vocabulary Development and Reading Comprehension of Native Spanish Speaking Adolescents (PI: Liz Howard). Dr. McCoach is the co-editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics. She is also on the editorial review boards for the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ), the Journal of Educational Psychology (JEP), the Journal of Educational Research (JER), Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ), and the Journal of Primary Prevention (JPP).

•Ph.D., Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut, 2003

•Sixth Year Certificate, School Psychology, University of Connecticut

•M. A., Secondary Education, Lehigh University, 1993

•B. A., Economics and French, University of Delaware, 1991

« Full C.V. »

Contact Information: 

Gentry - 339

Phone: (860) 486-0183
Fax: (860) 486-0180

Email: betsy.mccoach@uconn.edu

Office Hours:
By appointment

Mailing Address:
249 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2064

Personal Web Page

Current Courses Taught:

EPSY 344: Instrument Design

EPSY 441: Methods and Techniques of Educational Research

EPSY 440: Hierarchical Linear Modeling

Honors/Awards:

Early Scholar, National Association for Gifted Children

University of Connecticut Outstanding Young Alumni Investigator (2006)

Hollingworth Award, National Association of Gifted Children, with Carol Tieso (2004)

AERA Dissertation Research Grant, $15,000 (2002-2003)

Spencer Doctoral (Pre-dissertation) Fellowship, American Educational Research Association and Spencer Foundation (2001-2002)

Associations/Committees/Outreach:

American Educational Research Association

American Psychological Association

Journal of Advanced Academics

Closing the Achievement Gap Conference

DATIC

AERA Research on Giftedness and Talent Development SIG

National Association of Gifted Children

American Evaluation Association

Areas of Expertise:

Research Methodology

Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment

Gifted & Talented

Instrument Design

Underachievers

Funded Research:

Co-Principal Investigator. Structure and Function of Collective Efficacy. Large Faculty Research Grant awarded to Robert Colbert and Betsy McCoach, 2005

Co-Principal Investigator. Evaluation of Idaho Mentoring Program, State Department of Idaho. $10,000 Contract.

Measurement and methodology specialist, IES grant awarded to Dr. Michael Coyne (PI), University of Connecticut

Methodologist, IES Javitz Grant awarded to Sally Reis (PI), University of Connecticut

Methodologist, National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented

Methodologist, Content Based Vocabulary Instruction: Using Cognates to Promote the Vocabulary Development and Reading Comprehension of Native Spanish Speaking Adolescents

Selected Publications/Presentations:

McCoach, D. B. (in press). Hierarchical Linear Modeling. In G. R. Hancock & R. O. Mueller (Eds.) Quantitative Methods in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: A Guide for Researchers and Reviewers. Taylor & Francis.

McCoach, D. B. (in press). Research Methods for Gifted Studies: Comments and Future Directions. In B. Thompson, B. & R. F. Subotnik (Eds.). Methodologies for Conducting Research on Giftedness. Washington, DC: APA.

O’Connell, A.A. & McCoach, D.B. (2008). (Eds.) Multilevel Modeling of Educational Data. Volume sponsored by AERA SIG: Educational Statisticians. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

McCoach, D.B., & Black, A. C. (2008). Assessing Model Adequacy. In Multilevel Modeling of Educational Data, Ann A. O’Connell and D. Betsy McCoach (Eds.)

McCoach, D. B., & Siegle (2007). What predicts teachers’ attitudes toward the gifted? Gifted Child Quarterly, 51, 246-255.

McCoach, D. B., Black, A. C., & O’Connell, A. A. (2007). Errors of inference in structural equation modeling. Psychology in the Schools, 44, 461-470.

McCoach, D. B., O’Connell, A. A., Reis, S. M., & Levitt, H. (2006). Growing readers: A hierarchical linear model of children’s reading growth over the first two years of school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 14-28.

McCoach, D. B., O’Connell, A. A., & Levitt, H. (2006). The effects of ability grouping in kindergarten reading using the ECLS-K. Journal of Educational Research, 99, 339-345.

Kenny, D. A. & McCoach, D. B. (2003). Effect of the number of variables on measures of fit in Structural Equation Modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 10, 333-351.

McCoach, D. B. & Siegle, D. (2003). The SAAS-R: A new instrument to identify academically able students who underachieve. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63, 414-429.