Positive Student Outcomes in Community Schools

Analyzes links between participation in community school supplemental programs in extended learning, family engagement, and support, and student outcomes such as English language development scores and attitudes about school. Makes policy recommendations

State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics, Demographics, and Economic Environment

This paper uses data on abortion rates from 1974-88, to estimate two-stage least squares models with fixed state and year effects. The results indicate that implementing restrictions on Medicaid funding for abortion results in lower aggregate abortion rates in-state and higher abortion rates among nearby states, suggesting one of the main effects of these policies is to induce cross-state migration for abortion services. The effect of these restrictions on actual abortions among state residents is much smaller; a maximal estimate suggests that 22 percent of the abortions among low-income women that are publicly funded do not take place after funding is eliminated. We also have substantial evidence that a larger number of abortion providers in a state increases the abortion rate within the state, primarily through inducing cross-state migration, with nonhospital providers being particularly important. Political affiliation variables have mixed effects and are difficult to interpret. Controlling for state fixed effects, the effect of changes in demographic and economic variables over time is typically small, although a rise in unemployment has consistently positive effects on abortion rates.

Race, Ethnicity and the Dynamics of Health Insurance Coverage

Using matched data from the 1996 to 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS), we examine racial patterns in annual transitions into and out of health insurance coverage. We first decompose racial differences in static health insurance coverage rates into group differences in transition rates into and out of health insurance coverage. The low rate of health insurance coverage among African-Americans is due almost entirely to higher annual rates of losing health insurance than whites. Among the uninsured, African-Americans have similar rates of gaining health insurance in the following year as whites. Estimates from the matched CPS also indicate that the lower rate of health insurance coverage among Asians is almost entirely accounted for by a relatively high rate of losing health insurance. In contrast to these findings, differences in health insurance coverage between Latinos and whites are due to group differences in both the rate of health insurance loss and gain. Using logit regression estimates, we also calculate non-linear decompositions for the racial gaps in health insurance loss and gain. We find that two main factors are responsible for differences in health insurance loss between working-age whites and minorities: job loss and education level. Higher rates of job loss account for 30 percent of the health insurance gap for African-Americans and Asians, and 16 percent of the health insurance gap for Latinos. Lower levels of education explain roughly 15 percent of the gap for African-Americans and Latinos (Asians' higher levels of education serve to close the gap). Higher rates of welfare and SSI participation among African-Americans also serve to widen the gap in health insurance loss by 8 percent.race, health insurance, insurance dynamics

Alien Registration- Feero, Rebecca A. (Phippsburg, Sagadahoc County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/9707/thumbnail.jp

Afterschool Program Participation, Youth Physical Fitness, and Overweight

BackgroundFighting childhood obesity has become a key policy focus. The role of community-based interventions to promote physical activity is an important part of an overall strategy to increase physical activity for youth.PurposeThis study examines whether community-based afterschool physical activity programs lead to improved youth fitness and lower obesity rates.MethodsIndividually linked, longitudinal administrative data were used from local afterschool programs and two school districts in one California community to follow 1105 students from the 2006–2007 to 2008–2009 school years. Models were estimated in 2009–2010 using linear probability regressions and robust SEs, controlling for individual, family, and school characteristics, including fitness and overweight status prior to program participation.ResultsOne third (36%) of the students participated in fitness-focused afterschool programs. Controlling for baseline fitness status, participating in fitness-focused afterschool programs was associated with a 10% increase in the probability of being physically fit after 2 years. This finding held for nearly all subgroups, including students who were initially unfit. Participation in 2 years of the program was associated with a 14.7% increased likelihood of subsequent fitness compared to 8.8% for 1 year of participation. Participation in other types of afterschool programs was not associated with fitness improvements. There were no effects of participation in either type of program on overweight status.ConclusionsThese findings point to the promise of relying on existing community resources in the fight against childhood obesity. Fitness-focused afterschool programs will need to ensure that the highest-risk children—including those who are Latino and low-income—are served

Race, ethnicity and the dynamics of health insurance coverage

Using matched data from the 1996 to 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS), we examine racial patterns in annual transitions into and out of health insurance coverage. We first decompose racial differences in static health insurance coverage rates into group differences in transition rates into and out of health insurance coverage. The low rate of health insurance coverage among African-Americans is due almost entirely to higher annual rates of losing health insurance than whites. Among the uninsured, African-Americans have similar rates of gaining health insurance in the following year as whites. Estimates from the matched CPS also indicate that the lower rate of health insurance coverage among Asians is almost entirely accounted for by a relatively high rate of losing health insurance. In contrast to these findings, differences in health insurance coverage between Latinos and whites are due to group differences in both the rate of health insurance loss and gain. Using logit regression estimates, we also calculate non-linear decompositions for the racial gaps in health insurance loss and gain. We find that two main factors are responsible for differences in health insurance loss between working-age whites and minorities: job loss and education level. Higher rates of job loss account for 30 percent of the health insurance gap for African-Americans and Asians, and 16 percent of the health insurance gap for Latinos. Lower levels of education explain roughly 15 percent of the gap for African-Americans and Latinos (Asians' higher levels of education serve to close the gap). Higher rates of welfare and SSI participation among African-Americans also serve to widen the gap in health insurance loss by 8 percent

The Effects of Home Computers on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Community College Students

There is no clear theoretical prediction regarding whether home computers are an important input in the educational production function. To investigate the hypothesis that access to a home computer affects educational outcomes, we conduct the first-ever field experiment involving the provision of free computers to students for home use. Financial aid students attending a large community college in Northern California were randomly selected to receive free computers and were followed for two years. Although estimates for a few measures are imprecise and cannot rule out zero effects, we find some evidence that the treatment group achieved better educational outcomes than the control group. The estimated effects, however, are not large. We also provide some evidence that students initially living farther from campus benefit more from the free computers than students living closer to campus. Home computers appear to improve students' computer skills and may increase the use of computers at non-traditional times. The estimated effects of home computers on educational outcomes from the experiment are smaller than the positive estimates reported in previous studies. Using matched CPS data, we find estimates of educational effects that are considerably larger than the experimental estimates

As dinâmicas de ausência crônica e desempenho do aluno

Students with low attendance miss important learning and developmental opportunities and research has shown that they are at heightened risk of negative outcomes. Although there is an extensive body of research on truancy, chronic absenteeism is not generally measured or tracked in school data systems and is therefore not as well understood. This analysis uses linked, longitudinal administrative records to examine chronic absence across years for elementary and secondary school students. We investigate chronic absence patterns over time, ramifications of chronic absence on students’ educational outcomes, and effects of continued absence across school years. Results illustrate the cumulative nature of chronic absence and the negative role of persistent chronic absence on students’ educational outcomes. We discuss implications of these results for state policies and intervention procedures.Los estudiantes con baja presencia pierden importantes oportunidades de aprendizaje y desarrollo, y la investigación muestra que están en mayor riesgo de resultados negativos. A pesar de un amplio cuerpo de investigación sobre "absentismo escolar" ausentismo crónico por lo general no se mide o controla los sistemas de datos en escuelas y está, por tanto, no se entiende bien. Este análisis hace uso de registros administrativos conectados y longitudinales para examinar ausencia crónica en los últimos años a los estudiantes de la escuela primaria y secundaria. Se investigaron los patrones de ausencia crónica con el tiempo, la falta crónica de ramas en los resultados educativos de los alumnos, y la continua ausencia de efectos a lo largo de los años escolares. Los resultados ilustran el carácter acumulativo de la ausencia crónica y el papel negativo de la falta crónica persistente del rendimiento escolar de los estudiantes. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos resultados para las políticas públicas y los procedimientos de intervención.Estudantes com baixa presença perdem aprendizados importantes e oportunidades de desenvolvimento, e pesquisas revelam que eles estão em maior risco de resultados negativos. Apesar de ter um extenso corpo de pesquisa sobre “truancy”, absentismo crônico geralmente não é medido ou monitorado em sistemas de dados das escolas e é, portanto, não bem compreendido. Esta análise faz uso de registros administrativos ligados e longitudinais para examinar ausência crônica ao longo dos anos para alunos do ensino fundamental e médio. Investigamos padrões de ausência crônica ao longo do tempo, ramificações de ausência crônica sobre os resultados educacionais dos estudantes, e efeitos de ausência contínua ao longo dos anos escolares. Resultados ilustram a natureza cumulativa de ausência crônica e o papel negativo de ausência crônica persistente sobre resultados educacionais dos estudantes. Discutimos implicações desses resultados para políticas estatais e procedimentos de intervenções.

Community-Initiated Student-Engaged Research: Expanding Undergraduate Teaching and Learning through Public Sociology

Drawing on a multiyear local research project on the affordable housing crisis, this article outlines a pedagogical approach we call Community-Initiated Student-Engaged Research, or CISER. The CISER model brings together three key groups of actors—undergraduate students, university researchers, and community organizations—drawing on and extending the powers of cooperative “dyads” between them. This model aims to improve pedagogical and sociological practice by constituting undergraduate students as both knowledge producers and an active public while at the same time creating meaningful partnerships between university researchers and community-based organizations. Based on assessments of the program from the vantage points of all three groups, our findings indicate that CISER is a powerful pedagogical tool and mode of community-engaged scholarship and that it offers both challenges and rewards to the involved students, faculty, and community organizations

APRIL 15 SYNDROME

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72299/1/j.1465-7295.1997.tb01958.x.pd