Using Community Colleges to Re-Connect Disconnected Youth

Argues that community colleges should be a major institution helping youth re-connect to education. Explores a variety of measures and reforms that community colleges would need to take to develop comprehensive and effective education programs

The First Round of Legislative Reforms in the Post-Serrano World

An overview of recent legislation in the field of educational finance reform which describes a number of similarities among the bills enacted after the Serrano decision but Before the first major reversals of some of the earlier decisions. Weaknesses common to these efforts are detailed and indications of future trends are suggested. An Appendix enumerates 1972-1973 school finance reforms in eleven different states

'Restoring Value' to the High School Diploma: The Rhetoric and Practice of Higher Standards

This policy brief examines the recent wave of commission reports that have attacked the American high school and called for its "reinvention." Two conceptions of rigor are dominant: test-based rigor, requiring higher scores on conventional tests; and course-based rigor, requiring more demanding courses. However, these conventional academic conceptions neglect several other conceptions of rigor: as depth rather than breadth; as more sophisticated levels of understanding including "higher-order skills"; and as the ability to apply learning in unfamiliar settings. With very few exceptions, both graduation requirements and exit exams replicate the conventional academic curriculum of the late nineteenth century, and they have little to say about how their imposition will enhance student performance generally. Overall, the push to enhance rigor and standards behind the high school diploma is seriously flawed. Moreover, any gains come at the expense of other goals for high school reform, including equity, curricular relevance, and student interest. A more promising approach to reshaping the high school involves pathways, structured around a coherent theme, either broadly occupational or non-occupational

The Federal Role in Vocational-Technical Education

The federal government first began to support vocational education with the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. Its passage was controversial since there was considerable opposition to a federal role in education, which was a state responsibility. Since that time, the federal government has had constant involvement with vocational education through Smith-Hughes and its successor acts, including the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, which is currently in effect. As recent legislation has primarily focused on supporting academic achievement, it is as yet unclear what the federal government’s approach toward vocational education will be

The Federal Role in Vocational-Technical Education

The federal government first began to support vocational education with the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. Its passage was controversial since there was considerable opposition to a federal role in education, which was a state responsibility. Since that time, the federal government has had constant involvement with vocational education through Smith-Hughes and its successor acts, including the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, which is currently in effect. As recent legislation has primarily focused on supporting academic achievement, it is as yet unclear what the federal government’s approach toward vocational education will be

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome