QRM Conference 2025

The submissions can address a large variety of educational research questions using quantitative research methods relevant to e.g., national or international large-scale assessments, as well as matters of social recruitment, segregation, and inequality throughout the educational system. We also welcome submissions that target methodological considerations and challenges in quantitative research. Submit your poster abstract via the poster submission form and/or your paper abstract via the paper submission form no later than April 13.

Places are limited and priority will be given to those who have participated in QRM courses or have registered to become member of the QRM network.

The conference dinner, free of charge, takes place at OGBG Bar & Restaurang. Vegetarian buffet will be served to those who wish to join and indicate it when registering.

Register no later than May 30 via the registration form. Conference dinner registration is only available to those who sign up by May 16.

Title

Experimental education research: rethinking why, how and when to use random assignment

Keynote abstract 

Over the last twenty years, education researchers have increasingly conducted randomized experiments with the goal of informing the decisions of educators and policymakers. Such experiments have generally employed broad, consequential, standardised outcome measures in the hope that this would allow decisionmakers to compare the cost effectiveness of different approaches. However, a combination of small effect sizes, wide confidence intervals, and treatment effect heterogeneity means that researchers have largely failed to achieve this goal. We argue that quasi-experimental methods will often be superior for informing educators’ decisions on the grounds that they can achieve greater precision and better address heterogeneity. Experimental research still has value for improving education. However, it should primarily be used to test theoretical models, which can in turn inform educators’ mental models, rather than attempting to directly inform decision making. Since comparable effect size estimates are not of interest when testing educational theory, researchers can and should improve the power of theory-informing experiments by using more closely aligned outcome measures. We argue that this approach would reduce wasteful research spending and make the research that does go ahead more statistically informative, thus improving the return on investment in educational research.

Short bio

Dr Sam Sims is Associate Professor at UCL Institute of Education and also leads the Research Team at Ambition Institute. His research focuses on teachers, teaching, and teacher professional development. His research has been funded by the Education Endowment Foundation, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the Department for Education. Along with Becky Allen, he is co-author of the book The Teacher Gap. You can find him on social media @DrSamSims.

UCL profile page: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/47711-samuel-sims
Personal website: https://samsims.education/

Title

Tracing Educational Change: Trends, Challenges, and Insights from International Assessments

Keynote abstract 

Since the late 1950s, international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) have provided valuable insights into student learning and education systems worldwide. These studies allow for international benchmarking and the comparison of educational contexts across countries. Beyond cross-sectional comparisons, repeated assessment cycles make it possible to analyze long-term trends in educational opportunities and outcomes at the country level.
In this keynote, I will examine the added value of trend analyses in ILSAs, focusing on how longitudinal perspectives enhance our understanding of educational change over time. I will discuss key methodological challenges, particularly those related to comparability across assessment cycles, including sampling and measurement issues. Additionally, I will highlight the role of ILSAs in addressing broader societal questions, such as the impact of COVID-19 on student learning, and discuss how these studies contribute to evidence-based educational policy and practice.

Short bio

Dr. Rolf Strietholt is the co-head of the Research and Analysis Unit (RandA) of IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement). He coordinates research on educational effectiveness and educational measurement and consults external researchers and international organizations.
 

Workshop A

Title: An introduction to latent class analysis

This workshop offers a practical introduction to latent class analysis (LCA). LCA is an individual-centered, model-based method that classifies cases into unobserved, homogeneous groups based on the conditional probabilities of a set of observed categorical variables, given the latent classes. This approach makes LCA particularly valuable for examining individual differences in domains such as learning strategies, study habits, or behavioral patterns. The primary objectives of LCA are to determine the optimal number of latent classes, estimate the proportions of cases in each latent class, and identify their unique response patterns. Moreover, class membership can be used as a predictor or an outcome in relation to other variables, enhancing its analytical potential. This workshop introduces key LCA concepts, outlines detailed procedural steps, and explains decision criteria for model and latent class selection. Examples will be given using available data and the statistical software Mplus and R. Please note that the workshop serves as a gentle start of LCA modeling, a preparation for researchers into the more advanced latent variable mixture modeling world.

Target group: Doctoral candidates and senior researchers in social and behavioral sciences.

Previous knowledge requirements: basic statistics, regression analysis, and basic structural equation modeling technique. 

Outcomes: After the workshop, participants are expected to gain some understanding of the methods and be able to apply basic LCA/LPA models to their own data. Additionally, they will be equipped to read and critically assess the credibility of scientific articles that utilize these methods.

Workshop leaders

Kajsa Yang Hansen, University of Gothenburg, kajsa.yang-hansen@ped.gu.se

Kajsa is a Professor in the Department of Education and Special Education at University of Gothenburg. Her research focuses on educational equity and achievement differences, particularly why school outcomes vary significantly across countries while remaining relatively stable in others. A key aspect of her work examines how students' family backgrounds influence academic success differently depending on the national context. In Sweden, as in many other countries, societal and educational reforms have raised pressing questions about their impact on educational equity—an issue that has become central to her recent research. She uses advanced analytical approaches, such as multilevel modeling and latent variable analysis.

Leah Glassow, University of Gothenburg, leah.glassow-hill@gu.se

Leah is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Education and Special Education. She finished her PhD in 2023 as part of the ETN-OCCAM network in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 framework. Her research focuses on teacher effectiveness, sorting, mobility, and evaluating education policy at national and cross-national levels.

Workshop B

Title: Register-data for educational research (SCB)

Our Swedish data registries are often described as goldmines in the context of registry-based research. The long tradition and access to unique personal identity numbers makes Sweden prominent in registry-based research. SCB’s many and extensive population-based registries are a unique and excellent resource for researchers!
Statistics Sweden (SCB) is one out of 29 agencies responsible for producing official statistics, with registries covering a variety of areas, including population and labour market statistics. In addition, we support other agencies responsible for producing official statistics through data collections and production of statistics, with one example being information on education. 
During this seminar we will present what data is available at Statistics Sweden within the education sector and how you as a researcher can be granted access to microdata.
There will also be a presentation about personal identity numbers, which is the foundation of registry-based research on individuals, about family connections via the Multi-generation Register (Flergenerationsregistret), and about some longitudinal databases that SCB provides. In addition, we will briefly discuss how to combine microdata with your own data, survey data, or data from other agencies. 
Note! This seminar will be held in Swedish, however, questions can be posed in English.

Workshop leaders

We who will be representing Statistics Sweden are Åsa Holmström and Gabrielle Sundin from the section for microdata services, and our colleague from the section for education statistics, Andreas Frodell.

Andreas Frodell (sektionen för utbildningsstatistik)
Andreas.frodell@scb.se
010-479 63 39

Åsa Holmström (sektionen för mikrodatauppdrag)
Asa.holmstrom@scb.se
010-479 67 31

Gabrielle Sundin (sektionen för mikrodatauppdrag)
Gabrielle.sundin@scb.se
010-479 61 10

This year’s QRM conference also features a panel discussion takes place on Tuesday at 11:00 with the title From Classrooms to Data: The Impact of Grading and Grading Scales on Educational Studies.

Conference venue

The address is Pedagogen Hus A, Västra Hamngatan 25, 411 17 Göteborg.

Hotel recommendations

• Elite Plaza Hotel 
  Link to the hotel's website
• Comfort Hotel
  Link to the hotel's website