Introduction to the special issue on growth models for longitudinal data in educational research

A brief introduction to this special issue of Educational Research and Evaluation is given. Current trends in the analysis of longitudinal data begin with a model for change within the individual, as in latent growth modeling or multilevel modeling of individual growth data. This individual-level model can then be nested within a higher order model for variation in individual-level parameters. The 5 papers within this special issue each present unique contributions to the study of individual growth models in educational research and will contribute to a greater awareness of innovations in growth modeling procedures among educational researchers.