Do good primary schools perform even better as academies?

A current English education policy is to encourage all state primary schools to become academies: state-funded, non-selective, and highly autonomous establishments. Primary schools have been able to opt-in to academy status since 2010 and academies now account for twenty-one per-cent of the primary sector. This paper investigates the causal effect of voluntary academy conversion on primary school assessment outcomes, and on entry-year intake composition. Unlike existing evidence focused on earlier academies formed from failing secondary schools, no evidence is found of an academy conversion effect on attainment for the average pupil, although pupils with special educational needs do perform better in reading tests after academy conversion. There is no evidence that academy conversion affects the composition of the entry-year intake

Essays on the economics of education

This thesis consists of three original research articles relating to schooling in England. The first research chapter evaluates a recent English education policy which encourages state primary schools to become academies: state-funded, non-selective, and highly autonomous establishments. The chapter investigates the causal effect of converting to an academy on assessment outcomes, and on entry-year intake composition. Unlike existing evidence focused on academies formed from failing secondary schools, no evidence is found of a converter academy effect on attainment for the average pupil. There is no evidence that becoming a converter academy affects the composition of the entry-year intake. Standardised tests are a common, yet contentious, feature of many countries’ schools. In April 2010, two UK teachers’ unions boycotted mandatory age eleven standardised tests. The second research chapter uses a difference-in-differences strategy to estimate the effect of preparing for, but ultimately not completing, standardised tests on subsequent measures of attainment. The chapter finds evidence of a statistically significant adverse effect on age 14 teacher assessed attainment and age 16 secondary school qualification attainment. However, substantial treatment effect heterogeneity exists between sub-groups of pupils. Potential mechanisms are discussed, particularly the role of target setting. Standardised tests often facilitate school accountability, and pupils usually receive grades (or other feedback) based on their performance. However, providing feedback is not necessary for school accountability. The third research chapter evaluates the effect of receiving integer grades based on a series of low-stakes standardised tests taken by eleven-year-olds in England. The chapter uses raw test marks, typically unobserved by pupils, and grade thresholds to implement a sharp regression discontinuity design. The results indicate that just passing the cut-off to achieve a higher grade in these tests leads to an improvement in secondary school qualification attainment. The estimated effect of just crossing a grade cut-off on secondary school attainment is typically larger for economically disadvantaged pupils. The chapter finds no evidence of an effect on school attendance

Does greater primary school autonomy improve pupil attainment?:Evidence from primary school converter academies in England

A recent English education policy has been to encourage state primary schools to become academies: state-funded, non-selective, and highly autonomous establishments. Primary schools have been able to opt-in to academy status since 2010 and academies now account for twenty-one percent of the primary sector. This paper investigates the causal effect of becoming a converter academy on primary school assessment outcomes, and on entry-year intake composition. Unlike existing evidence focused on earlier academies formed from failing secondary schools, no evidence is found of a converter academy effect on attainment for the average pupil. Although, there is evidence of a slight positive effect on age 11 attainment for pupils eligible for free school meals. There is no evidence that becoming a converter academy affects the composition of the entry-year intake

No Tension: JWST Galaxies at z>10z > 10 Consistent with Cosmological Simulations

Recent observations by JWST have uncovered galaxies in the very early universe via the JADES and CEERS surveys. These galaxies have been measured to have very high stellar masses with substantial star formation rates. There are concerns that these observations are in tension with the $\Lambda$CDM model of the universe, as the stellar masses of the galaxies are relatively high for their respective redshifts. Recent studies have compared the JWST observations with large-scale cosmological simulations. While they were successful in reproducing the galaxies seen in JADES and CEERS, the mass and spatial resolution of these simulations were insufficient to fully capture the early assembly history of the simulated galaxies. In this study, we use results from the Renaissance simulations, which are a suite of high resolution simulations designed to model galaxy formation in the early universe. We find that the most massive galaxies in Renaissance have stellar masses and star formation rates that are entirely consistent with the observations from the JADES and CEERS surveys. The exquisite resolution afforded by Renaissance allows us to model the build-up of early galaxies from stellar masses as low as 10$^4$ M$_\odot$ up to a maximum stellar mass of a few times 10$^{7}$ M$_\odot$. Within this galaxy formation paradigm, we find excellent agreement with JADES and CEERS. We find no tension between the $\Lambda$CDM model and current JWST measurements. As JWST continues to explore the high redshift universe, high resolution simulations, such as Renaissance, will continue to be crucial in understanding the formation history of early embryonic galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for Publication in The Open Journal of Astrophysic

Putting guidelines into practice: Using co-design to develop a complex intervention based on NG48 to enable care staff to provide daily oral care to older people living in care homes

OBJECTIVES: (1) Explore the challenges of providing daily oral care in care homes; (2) understand oral care practices provided by care home staff; (3) co-design practical resources supporting care home staff in these activities. METHODS: Three Sheffield care homes were identified via the "ENRICH Research Ready Care Home Network," and three to six staff per site were recruited as co-design partners. Design researchers led three co-design workshops exploring care home staff's experiences of providing daily oral care, including challenges, coping strategies and the role of current guidelines. New resources were prototyped to support the use of guidelines in practice. The design researchers developed final resources to enable the use of these guidelines in-practice-in-context. FINDINGS: Care home staff operate under time and resource constraints. The proportion of residents with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions is rapidly increasing. Care home staff face challenges when residents adopt "refusal behaviours" and balancing daily oral care needs with resident and carer safety becomes complex. Care home staff have developed many coping strategies to navigate "refusal behaviours." Supporting resources need to "fit" within the complexities of practice-in-context. CONCLUSIONS: The provision of daily oral care practices in care homes is complex and challenging. The co-design process revealed care home staff have a "library" of context-specific practical knowledge and coping strategies. This study offers insights into the process of making guidelines usable for professionals in their contexts of practice, exploring the agenda of implementing evidence-based guidelines

2002 AASU Men\u27s Tennis Results Sheet

Performers: Phil ReganPiano, Voice and Chord

Seizure during hyperbaric oxygen therapy for carbon monoxide toxicity: a case series and five-year experience.

BACKGROUND: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is recommended to reduce the delayed neurologic sequelae resulting from carbon monoxide (CO) toxicity. Although HBO is generally well tolerated, there exists a risk of seizure in all patients that may be increased in patients with predisposing factors including: fever, hypothermia, prior seizure, or brain injury. CASE REPORT: We present two cases of patients without known risk factors who experienced seizures associated with HBO therapy during treatment for CO toxicity. CONCLUSION: This facility\u27s 5-year experience and a review of the germane literature are also presented to elucidate the risk factors and incidence of seizures in patients treated with HBO for CO toxicity

Women\u27s Choir with Lost Mountain Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Choirs

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Women\u27s Choir with Lost Mountain Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Choirs with Brenda Brent, piano.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1873/thumbnail.jp

Putting Guidelines into Practice: Using Co-design to Develop a Complex Intervention Based on NG48 to Enable Care Staff to Provide Daily Oral Care to Older People Living in Care Homes

Objectives: 1) Explore the challenges of providing daily oral care in care homes; 2) Understand oral care practices provided by care home staff; 3) Co-design practical resources supporting care home staff in these activities. Methods: Three Sheffield care homes were identified via the ‘ENRICH Research Ready Care Home Network’ and three to six staff per site were recruited as co-design partners. Design researchers led three co-design workshops exploring care home staff’s experiences of providing daily oral care, including challenges, coping strategies and the role of current guidelines. New resources were prototyped to support the use of guidelines in practice. The design researchers developed final resources to enable the use of these guidelines in-practice-in-context. Findings: Care home staff operate under time and resource constraints. The proportion of residents with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions is rapidly increasing. Care home staff face challenges when residents adopt ‘refusal behaviours’ and balancing daily oral care needs with resident and carer safety becomes complex. Care home staff have developed many coping strategies to navigate ‘refusal behaviours’. Supporting resources need to ‘fit’ within the complexities of practice-in-context. Conclusions: The provision of daily oral care practices in care homes is complex and challenging. The co-design process revealed care home staff have a ‘library’ of context-specific practical knowledge and coping strategies. This study offers insights into the process of making guidelines usable for professionals in their contexts of practice, exploring the agenda of implementing evidence-based guidelines