Research on value-added models, community colleges, instructional practices, MOOCs, and more appeared in the 10 most popular journal articles published by American Educational Research Association in 2014. Based on the number of times they were accessed online, the following were the most popular AERA research articles published in 2014.

(Full articles can be accessed at no cost through the links below. All files are PDF.)

1. Instructional Alignment as a Measure of Teaching Quality
   Researchers found weak to nonexistent relationships between state-administered value-added model measures of teacher performance and the content or quality of teachers’ instruction.
   Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, May 2014
   Morgan S. Polikoff, Andrew C. Porter


2. Facts Are More Important Than Novelty: Replication in the Education Sciences
   Although replicating important findings is essential for helping education research improve its usefulness to policymakers and practitioners, less than one percent of the articles published in the top education research journals are replication studies. 
   Educational Researcher, August 2014
   Matthew C. Makel, Jonathan A. Plucker 


3. Which Instructional Practices Most Help First-Grade Students With and Without Mathematics Difficulties?
   First-grade teachers in the United States may need to change their instructional practices if they are to raise the mathematics achievement of students with mathematics difficulties.
   Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, June 2014
   Paul L. Morgan, George Farkas, Steve Maczuga


4. The Community College Route to the Bachelor's Degree
   Students who begin their postsecondary education at a community college and successfully transfer to a four-year college have BA graduation rates equal to similar students who begin at four-year colleges, according to this article.
   Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, March 2014
   David B. Monaghan, Paul Attewell


5. How Teacher Evaluation Methods Matter for Accountability: A Comparative Analysis of Teacher Effectiveness Ratings by Principals and Teacher Value-Added Measures
   The results from this quantitative analysis of thirty schools suggest that method of evaluation may not only affect which specific teachers are rewarded in the short term, but shape the qualities of teacher and teaching students experience in the long term.
   American Educational Research Journal, January 2014
   Douglas N. Harris, William K. Ingle, Stacey A. Rutledge


6. Efficacy of the Responsive Classroom Approach: Results from a 3-Year, Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial
   Classroom programs designed to improve elementary school students’ social and emotional skills can also increase reading and math achievement, even if academic improvement is not a direct goal of the skills building.
   American Educational Research Journal, March 2014
   Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman


7. Teacher Evaluation Policy and Conflicting Theories of Motivation
   Current interest in teacher evaluation focuses disproportionately on measurement issues and performance-based pay without an overarching theory of how evaluation works. To develop such a theory, the author contrasts two motivation theories often used to guide thinking about teacher evaluation.
   Educational Researcher, March 2014
   William A. Firestone


8. Human Capital Theory: A Holistic Criticism
   This article takes a holistic approach and reviews human capital theory from four comprehensive perspectives focusing on the methodological, empirical, practical, and moral aspects of the theory.
   Review of Research in Education, April 2014
   Emrullah Tan


9. Changing "Course": Reconceptualizing Educational Variables for Massive Open Online Courses
   In massive open online courses (MOOCs), low barriers to registration attract large numbers of students with diverse interests and backgrounds, and student use of course content is asynchronous and unconstrained. The authors argue that MOOC data are not only plentiful and different in kind but require reconceptualization.
   Educational Researcher, March 2014
   Jennifer DeBoer


10. Labor Market Returns to Sub-Baccalaureate Credentials: How Much Does a Community College Degree or Certificate Pay? 
    This study provides one of the first estimates of the returns to different types of community college credentials—short-term certificates, long-term certificates, and associate degrees—across different fields of study.
    Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, November 2014
    Mina Dadgar, Madeline Joy Trimble 

In addition to the preceding list of the top 10 articles across AERA's suite of six journals, lists of the top 10 articles by journal can be viewed here.