Imaging of bronchial pathology in antibody deficiency: Data from the European Chest CT Group

Studies of chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with primary antibody deficiency syndromes (ADS) suggest a broad range of bronchial pathology. However, there are as yet no multicentre studies to assess the variety of bronchial pathology in this patient group. One of the underlying reasons is the lack of a consensus methodology, a prerequisite to jointly document chest CT findings. We aimed to establish an international platform for the evaluation of bronchial pathology as assessed by chest CT and to describe the range of bronchial pathologies in patients with antibody deficiency. Ffteen immunodeficiency centres from 9 countries evaluated chest CT scans of patients with ADS using a predefined list of potential findings including an extent score for bronchiectasis. Data of 282 patients with ADS were collected. Patients with common variable immunodeficiency disorders (CVID) comprised the largest subgroup (232 patients, 82.3%). Eighty percent of CVID patients had radiological evidence of bronchial pathology including bronchiectasis in 61%, bronchial wall thickening in 44% and mucus plugging in 29%. Bronchiectasis was detected in 44% of CVID patients aged less than 20 years. Cough was a better predictor for bronchiectasis than spirometry values. Delay of diagnosis as well as duration of disease correlated positively with presence of bronchiectasis. The use of consensus diagnostic criteria and a pre-defined list of bronchial pathologies allows for comparison of chest CT data in multicentre studies. Our data suggest a high prevalence of bronchial pathology in CVID due to late diagnosis or duration of disease

Curricular policy as a collective effects problem: A distributional approach.

Current educational policies in the United States attempt to boost student achievement and promote equality by intensifying the curriculum and exposing students to more advanced coursework. This paper investigates the relationship between one such effort - California's push to enroll all 8th grade students in Algebra - and the distribution of student achievement. We suggest that this effort is an instance of a "collective effects" problem, where the population-level effects of a policy are different from its effects at the individual level. In such contexts, we argue that it is important to consider broader population effects as well as the difference between "treated" and "untreated" individuals. To do so, we present differences in inverse propensity score weighted distributions investigating how this curricular policy changed the distribution of student achievement. We find that California's attempt to intensify the curriculum did not raise test scores at the bottom of the distribution, but did lower scores at the top of the distribution. These results highlight the efficacy of inverse propensity score weighting approaches for examining distributional differences, and provide a cautionary tale for curricular intensification efforts and other policies with collective effects

Curricular policy as a collective effects problem: A distributional approach.

Current educational policies in the United States attempt to boost student achievement and promote equality by intensifying the curriculum and exposing students to more advanced coursework. This paper investigates the relationship between one such effort - California's push to enroll all 8th grade students in Algebra - and the distribution of student achievement. We suggest that this effort is an instance of a "collective effects" problem, where the population-level effects of a policy are different from its effects at the individual level. In such contexts, we argue that it is important to consider broader population effects as well as the difference between "treated" and "untreated" individuals. To do so, we present differences in inverse propensity score weighted distributions investigating how this curricular policy changed the distribution of student achievement. We find that California's attempt to intensify the curriculum did not raise test scores at the bottom of the distribution, but did lower scores at the top of the distribution. These results highlight the efficacy of inverse propensity score weighting approaches for examining distributional differences, and provide a cautionary tale for curricular intensification efforts and other policies with collective effects

Algebra for All: California's Eighth-Grade Algebra Initiative as Constrained Curricula.

Background/contextAcross the United States, secondary school curricula are intensifying as a growing proportion of students enroll in high-level academic math courses. In many districts, this intensification process occurs as early as eighth grade, where schools are effectively constraining their mathematics curricula by restricting course offerings and placing more students into Algebra I. This paper provides a quantitative single-case research study of policy-driven curricular intensification in one California school district.Research questions(1a) What effect did 8th eighth grade curricular intensification have on mathematics course enrollment patterns in Towering Pines Unified schools? (2b) How did the distribution of prior achievement in Towering Pines math classrooms change as the district constrained the curriculum by universalizing 8th eighth grade Algebra? (3c) Did 8th eighth grade curricular intensification improve students' mathematics achievement?SettingTowering Pines is an immigrant enclave in the inner-ring suburbs of a major metropolitan area. The district's 10 middle schools together enroll approximately 4,000 eighth graders each year. The districts' students are ethnically diverse and largely economically disadvantaged. The study draws upon administrative data describing 8th eighth graders in the district in the 2004-20-05 through 2007-20-08 school years.Intervention/program/practiceDuring the study period, Towering Pines dramatically intensified middle school students' math curricula: In the 2004-20-05 school year 32% of the district's 8th eighth graders enrolled in Algebra or a higher- level mathematics course; by the 2007-20-08 school year that proportion had increased to 84%.Research designWe use an interrupted time-series design, comparing students' 8th eighth grade math course enrollments, 10th grade math course enrollments, and 10th grade math test scores across the four cohorts, controlling for demographics and prior achievement.Findings/resultsWe find that students' odds of taking higher level mathematics courses increased as this district implemented the state's Algebra mandate. However, even as the district implemented a constrained curriculum strategy, mathematics achievement growth between 6th sixth and 10th grade slowed and the achievement advantages associated with 8th eighth grade Algebra declined.Conclusions/recommendationsOur analyses suggest that curricular intensification increased the inclusiveness and decreased the selectivity of the mathematics tracking regime in Towering Pines middle schools. However, the findings suggest that this constrained curriculum strategy may have may have unintended negative consequences for student achievement

Raising the stakes: How students' motivation for mathematics associates with high- and low-stakes test achievement

This study uses data from an urban school district to examine the relation between students' motivational beliefs about mathematics and high- versus low-stakes math test performance. We use ordinary least squares and quantile regression analyses and find that the association between students' motivation and test performance differs based on the stakes of the exam. Students' math self-efficacy and performance avoidance goal orientation were the strongest predictors for both exams; however, students' math self-efficacy was more strongly related to achievement on the low-stakes exam. Students' motivational beliefs had a stronger association at the low-stakes exam proficiency cutoff than they did at the high-stakes passing cutoff. Lastly, the negative association between performance avoidance goals and high-stakes performance showed a decreasing trend across the achievement distribution, suggesting that performance avoidance goals are more detrimental for lower achieving students. These findings help parse out the ways motivation influences achievement under different stakes

Curricular policy as a collective effects problem: A distributional approach

Current educational policies in the United States attempt to boost student achievement and promote equality by intensifying the curriculum and exposing students to more advanced coursework. This paper investigates the relationship between one such effort -- California's push to enroll all 8(th) grade students in Algebra -- and the distribution of student achievement. We suggest that this effort is an instance of a “collective effects” problem, where the population-level effects of a policy are different from its effects at the individual level. In such contexts, we argue that it is important to consider broader population effects as well as the difference between “treated” and “untreated” individuals. To do so, we present differences in inverse propensity score weighted distributions to investigate how this curricular policy changed the distribution of student achievement more broadly. We find that California's attempt to intensify the curriculum did not raise test scores at the bottom of the distribution, but did lower scores at the top of the distribution. These results highlight the efficacy of inverse propensity score weighting approaches for estimating collective effects, and provide a cautionary tale for curricular intensification efforts and other policies with collective effects

Raising the stakes: How students' motivation for mathematics associates with high- and low-stakes test achievement

This study uses data from an urban school district to examine the relation between students’ motivational beliefs about mathematics and high- versus low-stakes math test performance. We use ordinary least squares and quantile regression analyses and find that the association between students’ motivation and test performance differs based on the stakes of the exam. Students’ math self-efficacy and performance avoidance goal orientation were the strongest predictors for both exams; however, students’ math self-efficacy was more strongly related to achievement on the low-stakes exam. Students’ motivational beliefs had a stronger association at the low-stakes exam proficiency cutoff than they did at the high-stakes passing cutoff. Lastly, the negative association between performance avoidance goals and high-stakes performance showed a decreasing trend across the achievement distribution, suggesting that performance avoidance goals are more detrimental for lower achieving students. These findings help parse out the ways motivation influences achievement under different stakes