Analyzing educational data from a cohort-sequential design: an illustration using GPA

Psychologists studying developmental processes and sociologists studying social change developed sequential designs to enhance our ability to interpret change-related phenomena. Many educational researchers are also concerned with partitioning variance associated with change. Given the increased data-based capabilities of educational institutions, educational researchers should have more opportunities to use sequential designs. To this end, this paper illustrates how to analyze educational data from a cohort-sequential design. University data pertaining to grade inflation were analyzed using a variant of multiple regression.