Alternative Strategies for Identifying High-Performing Charter Schools in Texas

The Obama administration\u27s recurring policy emphasis on high-performing charter schools begs the obvious question: how do you identify a high-performing charter school? That is a crucially important policy question because any evaluation strategy that incorrectly identifies charter school performance could have negative effects on the economically and/or academically disadvantaged students who frequently attend charter schools. If low-performing schools are mislabeled and allowed to persist or encouraged to expand, then students may be harmed directly. If high-performing schools are driven from the market by misinformation, then students will lose access to programs and services that can make a difference in their lives. Most of the scholarly analysis to date has focused on comparing the performance of students in charter schools to that of similar students in traditional public schools (TPS). By design, that research measures charter school performance only in relative terms. Charter schools that outperform similarly situated, but low performing, TPSs have positive effects, even if the charter schools are mediocre in an absolute sense. This analysis describes strategies for identifying high-performing charter schools by comparing charter schools with one another. We begin by describing salient characteristics of Texas charter schools. We follow that discussion with a look at how other researchers across the country have compared charter school effectiveness with TPS effectiveness. We then present several metrics that can be used to identify high-performing charter schools. Those metrics are not mutually exclusive—one could easily justify using multiple measures to evaluate school effectiveness—but they are also not equally informative. If the goal is to measure the contributions that schools are making to student knowledge and skills, then a value-added approach like the ones highlighted in this report is clearly superior to a levels-based approach like that taken under the current accountability system

Understanding Violence and Prevention During a Pandemic: California news about guns, gun violence, and firearm suicide 2020-2021

A key component of stopping gun violence and firearm suicide in America is understanding the complete picture of these public health crises. Do journalists cover these issues thoroughly and effectively? How has coverage changed in recent years since nationwide protests against police brutality and structural racism have put some types of gun violence under more intense scrutiny? This research report sheds light on the coverage and how advocates can continue to shift the narrative on violence

Police surveillance of cell phone location data: Supreme Court versus public opinion

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures. As technology evolves, courts must examine Fourth Amendment concerns implicated by the introduction of new and enhanced police surveillance techniques. Recent Supreme Court cases have demonstrated a trend towards reconsidering the mechanical application of traditional Fourth Amendment doctrine to define the scope of constitutional protections for modern technological devices and personal data. The current research examined whether public opinion regarding privacy rights in electronic communications is in accordance with these Supreme Court rulings. Results suggest that cell phone location data is perceived as more private and deserving of protections than other types of location data, but the privacy of other types of information recorded on cell phones is valued even more than location data. These results have implications for the police and courts considering how the Fourth Amendment will apply to smart phone technologies

Sociodemographic Factors influencing Pandemic-Era EHDI Use and Access

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic impact on Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs is unknown. This research evaluated sociodemographic factors influencing adherence to EDHI diagnostic testing and the incidence of infant hearing loss during the pandemic. Method: We evaluated EHDI adherence and incidence of hearing loss in Kentucky before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using univariate and multivariate analysis, we evaluated the association of these outcomes to sociodemographic variables. Results: There were 71,206 births and 1,385 referred infant hearing screening tests during the study period. Infants during the pandemic had a 24% lower odds of hearing testing adherence (OR = 0.76, p = 0.05, 95%CI: 0.57–1). Hispanic infants have 45% lower odds of EHDI adherence (OR = 0.55, p = 0.03, 95%CI: 0.31–0.96) and infants of Swahili speaking families have 90% lower odds of EHDI adherence (OR = 0.10, p = 0.001, 95%CI: 0.02–0.42). Infants of mothers with a high school degree had a higher odds of adherence (OR = 1.50, p = 0.02, 95%CI: 1.06–2.17), presented earlier for testing (p = 0.003, 95%CI: -15.73– -3.32), and had a higher odds of normal hearing (OR = 1.63, p= 0.03, 95%CI: 1.06–2.51). Conclusion: EHDI adherence is influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and sociodemographic factors. EHDI programs are encouraged to use this data to promote timely and equitable access and use of diagnostic services

Learning Objects as Tools for Teaching Information Literacy Online: A Survey of Librarian Usage

Based on information gathered from two discussion sessions moderated by members of the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section’s Online Learning Research Committee a survey was conducted to identify how librarians use course/learning management systems and learning objects to deliver instruction. Objectives of the study were to identify the experiences of librarians who are using course/learning management systems; in what context learning objects are being developed and used; and the pedagogical considerations by librarians when creating online learning materials. In addition to discussing the results of the survey, a description of a “Toolkit for Online Learning” created by the Online Learning Research Committee is provided

Prospectus, April 9, 1989

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1989/1008/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, April 27, 1989

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1989/1009/thumbnail.jp

2020-04-17/18 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: Daily NM Recap. Stimulus checks. Whitehouse reopening guidelines. Increased suicide calls. Commentary on COVID and African Americans. NYC ventilation rate. 300K African deaths predicted. Thai horse virus outbreak. Europe eases lockdown. UK vaccine research. Chinese death undercount. Biosafety breaches. General wearing of masks. PPE for emergency physician. FDA approves safer swabs. Mental health lockdown impact. Intermittent social distancing. Undetected US cases. NYC hospitalization characteristics. Adapting veterinary surveillance. Infectious disease” hospital. NIH vaccine and treatment partnership. Repurposing anesthetic machines as ventilators. Guidance for psychiatrists. Elective surgery risk stratification. Hemodialysis facility. Pathologist on IgG/M tests. Abnormal coagulation and ECMO. Paramedic guidance. Dialysis and transplants. Critically ill management. GI guidance. Otorhinolaryngology head & neck surgery. Emergency nursing management. Lung surgery. Metabolic & bariatric surgery. Convalescent plasma therapy effectiveness. Potential antivirals. UK testing. Spike proteins for potential vaccine. Cytokines suggest IL-6 antagonist treatments. Mental health messaging. $483 million for mRNA-1273 vaccine trial. WHO unsure about antibody protection. Complications for IBD. Hospitalizations characterized. Social distancing and personality. Digital COVID-19 literature database available

2020-04-24 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NYT praises NM. NM Governor update. NM cases. NM antibody tests. State hiring freeze. Navajo Nation sues. Navajo Nation CA doctors. Mental health funding. Balloon Fiesta proceeding. Trump Lysol remarks. $484B business relief. 50k US deaths. US no to WHO initiatives. US crime reductions. Moscow 10% infections. Quebec elderly deaths. Italy psychiatric sequelae. Global vaccines summit. French nicotine sales restrictions. Adaptive cyclic exit strategies. Mask reuse techniques. Mask steaming method. Legionnaire’s reopening risks. Youth mental health. US disease models. Covid phobia treatment avoidance. Nursing home testing. Home nursing demand. CDC home cleaning. Guidelines on: convalescent plasma transfusion, H2O2 nasal use, pre-op testing, respiratory distress, ophthalmological practice, GI department reopening. FDA hydroxychloroquine cautions. Chloroquine high-dose mortality. HCQ+azithromycin long-QT. Iron reduction adjuvant. Repurposing prioritization. Pediatric HCQ dosing. HCQ enrollment up. 107 trials registered. PPE skin injuries. LDL and severity. 32 ECMO patients. Worse outcomes older monkeys