How Does a Principal Use Kentucky\u27s High Stakes Assessment To Monitor and Improve Student Learning?

This paper explores Kentucky\u27s Education Reform Act (KERA) for improving at-risk students\u27 scores to see if the strategies in one middle school improved standardized and state-performance-based assessment results. The study encompasses two purposes: to use a forced-entry regression model to detect which independent variables were predictors of success for at-risk students on the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS), and to offer an analytic model for principals to use in examining the impact of specific school reform initiatives and selected intervention strategies. The paper offers a literature review that discusses Effective Schools research, explains the background for KERA and KIRIS, and then describes the basis for the specific strategies addressed in a particular school for improving at-risk students\u27 scores. Results indicate a surprising contrast between two remedial programs: Title I and ESS. The paper presents two models that could be imitated by other schools and school councils in examining strategies for improving school results

Nonlinear optical properties of C-60 with explicit time-dependent electron dynamics

An explicit electron dynamics approach has been used to calculate the nonlinear optical properties of C-60 and its radical anion. An external perturbation, in the form of an oscillating electric field, induces the time-evolution of the molecular wavefunction. The time-averaged instantaneous dipole moment of the systems gives the molecular response to perturbations of varying field intensities and frequency of oscillation. The polarizabilities and the second-order hyperpolarizabilties have been calculated and are in good qualitative agreement with experimentally available data. In line with previous theoretical and experimental studies, the nonlinear effect is enhanced for the radical species

Alterations in IGF-I affect elderly: role of physical activity

The growth hormone–insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) axis is an important physiological regulator muscle for development. Although there is evidence that aging muscle retains the ability to synthesize IGF-I, there is also evidence that aging may be associated with attenuation of the ability of exercise to induce an isoform of IGF-I that promotes satellite cell proliferation. However, it is clear that overexpression of IGF-I in the muscle can protect against age-related sarcopenia. Strength training appears to be the intervention of choice for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia. IGF-I has been implicated in the loss of the muscle with age, and IGF-I expression levels change as a consequence of strength training in older adults. However, it seems that advancing age, rather than declining serum levels of IGF-I, appears to be a major determinant of lifetime changes in body composition in women and men. We concluded that resistive exercise is a significant determinant of muscle mass and function. Elevated levels of IGF-I have been found in physically active compared to sedentary individuals. Recent work suggests that IGF-I as a mediator plays an important role in muscle hypertrophy and angiogenesis, both of which characterize the anabolic adaptation of muscles to exercise