Is Gaining Access to Selective Elementary Schools Gaining Ground? Evidence From Randomized Lotteries

In this paper, we examine whether expanded access to sought-after schools can improve academic achievement. The setting we study is the "open enrollment" system in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). We use lottery data to avoid the critical issue of non-random selection of students into schools. Our analysis sample includes nearly 450 lotteries for kindergarten and first grade slots at 32 popular schools in 2000 and 2001. We track students for up to five years and examine outcomes such as standardized test scores, grade retention and special education placement. Comparing lottery winners and losers, we find that lottery winners attend higher quality schools as measured by both the average achievement level of peers in the school as well as by value-added indicators of the school's contribution to student learning. Yet, we do not find that winning a lottery systematically confers any evident academic benefits. We explore several possible explanations for our findings, including the possibility that the typical student may be choosing schools for non-academic reasons (e.g., safety, proximity) and/or may experience benefits along dimensions we are unable to measure, but find little evidence in favor of such explanations. Moreover, we separately examine effects for a variety of demographic subgroups, and for students whose application behavior suggests a strong preference for academics, but again find no significant effects.

The Effect of School Choice on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomized Lotteries

School choice has become an increasingly prominent strategy for urban school districts seeking to enhance academic achievement. Evaluating the impact of such programs is complicated by the fact that a highly select sample of students takes advantage of these programs. To overcome this difficulty, we exploit randomized lotteries that determine high school admission in the Chicago Public Schools. Surprisingly, we find little evidence that attending sought after programs provides any benefit on a wide variety of traditional academic measures, including standardized test scores, attendance rates, course-taking, and credit accumulation. This is true despite the fact that those students who win the lotteries attend better high schools along a number of dimensions, including higher peer achievement levels, higher peer graduation rates, and lower levels of poverty. We do, however, uncover evidence that attendance at such schools may improve a subset of non-traditional outcome measures, such as self-reported disciplinary incidences and arrest rates.

Boiling Heat Transfer of Impinging Jets on Superheated Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Superhydrophobic surfaces possess desirable self-cleaning properties, but have also been shown to reduce heat transfer to subcooled water in impinging jet scenarios. Further investigation is required to explore the potential utility of such surfaces in high temperature applications such as rocket launch-pad cooling. Here, superheated silicon substrates with varying wettability are quenched by an impinging water jet, where the substrate temperature is above the boiling regime which has previously been unexplored. Silicon wafers are etched, coated, and integrated with an electric resistance heater and heated to temperatures up to 300 ° C before being quenched by an axisymmetric water jet. The early results of this study confirm previous conjecture that decreased surface wettability is correlated to decreased heat transfer for the described scenario

Preservice Teacher Preparation in International Contexts: A Case-Study Examination of the International Student Teacher Programs

This article examines the teacher preparation experiences of preservice teachers in six international contexts: China, Fiji, Kiribati, Mexico, Samoa, and Tonga. More specifically, it looks at the value-added components in an international teacher education program, with an emphasis on effective teaching and employability. Theoretically the study is based on Straus and Corbin’s (1998a) substantive grounded theory and Patton’s (1997) Theory of Action Framework. Verbal and non-verbal forms of feedback were identified as essential aspects of the international preservice training experience. Cultural diversity, teaching English as a second language, collaboration, and exposure to a different educational system were identified among several components as advantages to individuals who conduct their preservice teacher training in international settings.</jats:p

Bienvenido a Chile: A Guide for the International Business of the Americas Cohort

This senior thesis projects aims to provide a comprehensive guide to living and studying abroad in Santiago, Chile to accompany the new International Business of the Americas cohort. It covers a spread of issues including macro politics and economics to where to live and how to repatriate to the University of South Carolina

Combining Polarizable Embedding with the Frenkel exciton model:Applications to absorption spectra with overlapping solute-solvent bands

Modeling of spectral properties of extended chemical systems, such as the case of a solute in a solvent, is often performed based on so-called hybrid models in which only part of the complete system is given a quantum chemical description. The remaining part of the system is represented by an embedding potential treating the environment either by a discrete or continuum model. In order to successfully make use of minimally sized quantum chemical regions, theembedding potential should represent the environment as authentic as possible. Here, the importance of exactly such an accurate description of the embedding potential is investigated by comparing the performance of the Polarizable Embedding scheme against larger sized full quantum mechanical calculations. Our main conclusion is that as long as the solute and solvent do not overlap in their absorption spectra, the Polarizable Embedding approach shows results consistent with full quantum chemical calculations. For partly overlapping absorption spectra the Polarizable Embedding approach can furthermore successfully be expanded within a Frenkel exciton approach based on only economical monomeric quantum chemical calculations. Thus, by extending the Polarizable Embedding scheme to the exciton picture it is possible to cover computations of the whole absorption spectrum andstill reduce the computational cost compared to costly cluster calculations.<br

Kinetics determination of soybean oil transesterification in the design of a continuous biodiesel production process

One-step batch transesterification consisting of three stepwise reversible reactions of pure soybean oil with methanol was conducted at two different mixing speeds (600 and 300 rpm) to produce soybean oil fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel). In both batch reactions, sodium methoxide (1.09 wt% based on soybean oil) was used as the catalyst, the reaction temperature was 60oC, and the methanol-to-oil molar ratio was 6:1. The objectives were to determine and/or investigate: 1) the mechanism and order of the reaction, 2) the reaction rate constants, 3) the effect of changes in mixing intensity on the reaction rate, 4) the comparison of the reaction mechanism and kinetic rate constants calculated with established literature references (for validation), and 5) how to interpret and utilize the kinetics analysis in the design of a continuous pilot-scale biodiesel production process. The kinetics analysis from the experiment showed that a second-order kinetic mechanism provided a good fit for the reaction. Kinetic rate constants at both mixing speeds were calculated and ranged from -3.10 x 10-3 - 0.028 (wt% min)-1 for the triglyceride, monoglyceride, and diglyceride forward reactions. The rate constants were slightly higher at the 600 rpm mixing speed. Higher mixing intensity also resulted in an increased purity of methyl esters (95.2 wt %). At both mixing speeds, monoglycerides showed the smallest percent elimination of all reaction intermediates at approximately 30%. The rate constants calculated for monoglycerides were the lowest as well. The monoglyceride rate constant of 0.0149 (wt% min)-1 was used in the design of a continuous process in a 100 gallon vessel, which is a scale of operation that could be easily adopted by a cooperative of oil seed producers or geographically isolated plant-oil producing villages. This Honors thesis was a component of a Biological and Agricultural Engineering team Senior Design project which consisted of designing a continuous biodiesel process from production to purification

An Online Investigation With Black Hypertensive Adults To Identify Predictors Of Self-ratings For Being Medication Non-adherent And For Racism And Discrimination Impacting Engagement With Medical Providers

This online COVID-19 pandemic era investigation with Black hypertensive adults (N=612) who were 93.6% U.S. born, 54.7% male, 44.3% female with a mean age of 37 years sought to identify predictors of self-ratings for being medication non-adherent and for racism and discrimination impacting engagement with medical providers. Findings showed over 70% were medication non-adherent on Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, and 49.3% self-classified as medication non-adherent. Regarding behaviors of following provider instructions for taking medication, maintaining appointments, and uninterrupted receipt of medication, these deteriorated during the pandemic, but improved by currently—as resilience; yet, maintaining appointments and uninterrupted receipt of medication were better currently than pre-pandemic. While social support was low and unchanged from before the pandemic to currently, social support with medications deteriorated during the pandemic, but improved currently. Participants rated providers as follows: having closest to moderate cultural competence; moderate level of discrimination; moderately high for discriminating against their personal demographics, identity, or appearance (e.g. 85.3% for being Black, 80.6% for skin color, 66% for hair); 64.5% exposed them to racism/ discrimination so it impacted engagement with providers for willingness to regularly attend appointments; and, low-moderate frequency of microaggressions related to being Black. Not surprisingly, moderate medical mistrust was found. Two backward stepwise logistic regression models highlighted recurrent predictors for medication adherence as being 1-less provider discrimination for demographics/ identity/ appearance, and 2-less frequent provider microaggressions for being Black; and, one highlighted higher provider cultural competence. In a third model, greater provider discrimination was a predictor of self-classifying for racism/discrimination impacting engagement with providers. Findings highlight less provider discrimination and less frequent microaggressions by providers as key experiences—such that lower levels of exposure to provider racism, discrimination and microaggressions emerge as powerful determinants of medication adherence. The study has important implications for the urgency of addressing providers’ racism, discrimination and racial microaggressions as factors playing a role in medication non-adherence and patients’ unwillingness to return for medical appointments. Training in cultural competence is vitally needed with specific attention in training to actually observing, addressing and changing providers’ behavior of enacting racism, discrimination, and microaggressions with Black hypertensive patients