Empirical Bayes Methods

Empirical Bayes is an inferential approach that pools information across distinct statistical units. It has a wide range of applications in education – including estimating student proficiencies in subject matter areas, evaluating teacher performance, and assessing value added to intervention programs – to name a few. This article describes the basic premise of the empirical Bayes approach for three commonly used models: normal–normal, gamma–Poisson, and beta–binomial. Key extensions of the approach are illustrated through an example that is based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The power and limitations of empirical Bayes are also illustrated through the example.

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