Student Progression Through Developmental Sequences in Community Colleges

Developmental education is designed to provide students with weak academic skills the opportunity to strengthen those skills enough to prepare them for college-level coursework. The concept is simple enough—students who arrive unprepared for college are provided instruction to bring them up to an adequate level. But in practice, developmental education (or “remedial” education, we use these terms interchangeably) is complex and confusing. Experts do not agree on the meaning of being “college ready,” and policies governing assessment, placement, pedagogy, staffing, completion, and eligibility for enrollment in college-level, credit-bearing courses vary from state to state, college to college, and program to program. The developmental education process is confusing enough simply to describe, yet from the point of view of the student, especially one with very weak academic skills and little previous success in school, it may appear as a bewildering set of unanticipated obstacles involving several assessments, classes in more than one subject area, and sequences of courses requiring three or more semesters of study before the student (often a high school graduate) is judged prepared for college-level work

The Association between Apolipoprotein A-II and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults: A Comparison Study of Apolipoprotein A-I and Apolipoprotein B

BackgroundApolipoprotein A-II (apoA-II) is the second-most abundant apolipoprotein in human high-density lipoprotein and its role in cardio metabolic risk is not entirely clear. It has been suggested to have poor anti-atherogenic or even pro-atherogenic properties, but there are few studies on the possible role of apoA-II in Asian populations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of apoA-II in metabolic syndrome (MetS) compared with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and apolipoprotein B (apoB) in Korean adults.MethodsWe analyzed data from 244 adults who visited the Center for Health Promotion in Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital for routine health examinations.ResultsThe mean apoB level was significantly higher, and the mean apoA-I level was significantly lower, in MetS; however, there was no significant difference in apoA-II levels (30.5±4.6 mg/dL vs. 31.2±4.6 mg/dL, P=0.261). ApoA-II levels were more positively correlated with apoA-I levels than apoB levels. ApoA-II levels were less negatively correlated with homocysteine and high sensitivity C-reactive protein levels than apoA-I levels. The differences in MetS prevalence from the lowest to highest quartile of apoA-II were not significant (9.0%, 5.7%, 4.9%, and 6.6%, P=0.279). The relative risk of the highest quartile of apoA-II compared with the lowest quartile also was not significantly different (odds ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 1.04; P=0.956).ConclusionCompared with apoA-I (negative association with MetS) and apoB (positive association with MetS) levels, apoA-II levels did not show any association with MetS in this study involving Korean adults. However, apoA-II may have both anti-atherogenic and pro-atherogenic properties

Conducting Research to Answer Your Questions about Dual Enrollment

Dual enrollment, in which high school students take college courses for credit, is an increasingly popular educational program. As states and local education authorities (LEAs) devote resources to this initiative, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of these investments. Doing so presents unique challenges, however, because the data and analytic requirements of evaluating dual enrollment require coordination among individual high schools, LEAs, postsecondary institutions, and states. These challenges can be overcome, and the effort it takes to do so is well worth the financial and human investment. This summary is intended to help decision-makers understand why research on dual enrollment programs is important and how policymakers can support research activities

Referral, Enrollment, and Completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges

After being assessed, many students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the patterns and determinants of student progression through sequences of developmental education starting from initial referral. We rely primarily on a micro-level longitudinal dataset that includes detailed information about student progression through developmental education. This dataset was collected as part of the national community college initiative Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count. The dataset has many advantages, but it is not nationally representative; therefore, we check our results against a national dataset—the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Our results indicate that fewer than one half of the students who are referred to remediation actually complete the entire sequence to which they are referred. About 30 percent of students referred to developmental education do not enroll in any remedial course, and only about 60 percent of referred students actually enroll in the remedial course to which they were referred. The results also show that more students exit their developmental sequences because they did not enroll in the first or a subsequent course than because they failed or withdrew from a course in which they were enrolled. We also show that men, older students, African American students, part-time students, and students in vocational programs are less likely to progress through their full remedial sequences

Dual Enrollment Students in Florida and New York City: Postsecondary Outcomes

This Brief summarizes a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) that was designed to fill that research gap. Our investigation sought to assess the effectiveness of dual enrollment programs in promoting high school graduation and postsecondary achievement. We examined the influence of dual enrollment program participation on students in the State of Florida and in New York City, compared to students who did not participate, with a specific focus in both locations on CTE students. In Florida, we also considered all student participants. Our study provides evidence suggesting that dual enrollment is an effective strategy for encouraging postsecondary success for all students, including those in CTE programs

Case report: Exploring teduglutide as a therapeutic option for refractory microscopic colitis: insights and implications

Microscopic colitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the colon characterized by chronic watery diarrhea, generally with endoscopically normal or nonspecific findings, and can be diagnosed by histopathological examination of colon mucosal biopsies. Some patients experience severe symptoms that do not respond to conventional medical treatment. A glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) analog, teduglutide, is used in patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) dependent on parenteral support. In this case report, we describe a patient with microscopic colitis who demonstrated significant symptom improvement following teduglutide treatment

Correlation between thigh skinfold thickness and physical fitness factors in Korean adults and older individuals

Background: This cross-sectional epidemiological study aimed to compare the differences in physical fitness variables according to the skinfold thickness in the thigh area in adults and Korean older individuals. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2015 National Fitness Survey. A total of 4034 healthy adults (2442 men, 1592 women) with an average age of 38.19 ± 12.41 years and 880 healthy older subjects (369 men, 511 women) with an average age of 72.32 ± 5.49 years participated in this study. The skinfold thickness of the thigh was measured using a skinfold caliper (Dynatron, Dynatronics, USA). The participants underwent physical fitness tests, including the hand squeeze strength test, abdominal curl ups, standing double-leg long jump, 50 m shuttle run, sit and reach, and 20 m shuttle run for adult men and women. Older men and women performed the following tests: hand squeeze strength, abdominal curl ups, sit to stand test, single leg balance (open eyes), sit and reach, Apley scratch test for shoulder mobility, and 6-minute walk test. Independent t-tests and Pearson correlation analyses were used for the analysis. Results: Among the older men, significant differences were found in thigh skinfold thickness (t = –21.122, p < 0.001), abdominal curl ups (t = 2.165, p = 0.031), and sit and reach in men (t = 2.609, p = 0.009), and thigh skinfold (t = –29.611, p < 0.001), and Apley scratch test for shoulder mobility in women (t = –2.120, p = 0.034). There was a significant correlation between thigh skinfold thickness and physical activity (thigh skinfold thickness) in adult men (t = –54.202, p < 0.001), nondominant hand squeeze strength (t = 2.632, p = 0.009), abdominal curl ups (t = 4.292, p < 0.001), sit and reach (t = 3.063, p = 0.002), twenty meters shuttle run (t = 4.657, p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were found in dominant hand squeeze strength, standing double leg long jump, or 50 m shuttle run in men (p < 0.05). In adult women, there was a significant correlation between thigh skinfold thickness and physical activity (thigh skinfold thickness (t = –49.405, p < 0.001), dominant hand squeeze strength (t = 7.789, p < 0.001), nondominant hand squeeze strength (t = 6.944, p < 0.001), abdominal curl ups (t = 5.347, p < 0.001), standing double leg long jump (t = 5.890, p < 0.001), sit and reach (t = 5.384, p < 0.001), twenty meter shuttle run (t = 5.223, p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were found in fifty meter shuttle run in women (p < 0.05). Among older men, only single leg balance and sit and reach were correlated with thigh skinfold (single leg balance r = 0.169, p = 0.01; sit and reach r = –0.201, p = 0.001). In women, only abdominal curl ups, sit and reach, and Apley scratch test correlated with thigh skinfold (abdominal curl ups r = –0.088, p = 0.002; sit and reach r = –0.137, p = 0.002; Apley scratch test r = 0.090, p = 0.041). Conclusions: The effect of thigh skinfold thickness on the level of physical activity was more pronounced in adults than in older subjects. Our findings show that muscle strength and body fat in the lower extremities can affect overall muscle strength, endurance, and balance