Leading From the Middle: Mid-Level District Staff and Instructional Improvement

This three-year research project demonstrates that mid-level central office staff can make or break critical reform initiatives. It also provides strong recommendations for a new vision of leadership in which central office and school staff become equal partners

The Extent of Perturbation of Skin Models by Transdermal Penetration Enhancers Investigated by 31P NMR and Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The molecular basis of the potent transdermal enhancement activity of a series of iminosulfuranes, structure provided where X = H, Cl, Br, and I, is being investigated skin models. It has been shown (J. Lipid Res. 46(2005), 2192-2201.) that correlations exist between the activity of the aforementioned transdermal penetration enhancers (TPE) and the extent to which these agents bind to DMPC vesicles and perturb the gel to liquid crystal phase transition measured by calorimetry. The degree to which the perturbation of these compounds extends into the bilayer interior in contrast to surface activity is unclear. To gain insight into this issue, the 31P NMR resonance from DMPC and DMPC-cholesterol unilamellar vesicles have been split by the slowly penetrating paramagnetic metal ion Pr+3. The extent to which this perturbation is attenuated by transdermal penetration enhancers has been investigated as a function of Pr+3 exposure time and iminosulfurane concentration. The effect of these iminosulfuranes on bilayer integrity is also being explored by monitoring the induced release of carboxyfluorescein from DMPC and DMPC- cholesterol unilamellar vesicles

Navigating Middle of the Road Reforms through Collaborative Community

The current wave of educational reform is complex and situated in market-based initiatives coupled with a renewed emphasis on local autonomy, deliberation, and community—middle-of-the-road reforms. In practice, schools are challenged to develop organizational forms that can support collaboration and community engagement, alongside the bureaucratic and accountability-driven reforms that demand more oversight, transparency, and demonstrable results. Our intent in this paper is to begin to map the emerging contradictions and opportunities that the complex reform climate presents for practitioners through a case study of a personalized learning charter school. In so doing, we illustrate how a community of teachers within a charter school navigated their work in the current policy climate. We found that explanatory frames that focused either on the market-oriented policy design or the democratically oriented structural mechanisms inside of schools were limited in their ability to help us account for what we were observing—that is, how teachers and staff used strategies of community and collaboration to reorganize how the accountability press from above unfolded in their school and in their day-to-day practices. We ultimately found that literature on collaborative community provided a compelling framework through which to interpret these findings

Market Analysis for Law School Admissions

The numbers are truly astonishing. Between 2011 and 2015, total enrollments in the 200- plus United States law schools whose data are regularly tracked by the American Bar Association (ABA) decreased by more than 20 percent. The total number of “missing students” was just shy of 30,000, an amount which translates into the total enrollments of 38 average-sized law schools—24 private not-for-profit and 14 public. Almost equally astonishing, however, is the fact that so little actually changed. None of the 200-plus law schools that reported their enrollment data to the ABA closed. The 65-35 percentage split between private and public enrollments was maintained. While total net revenue from JD tuitions declined by more than $400 million dollars, or 13 percent, law school staffing levels also declined, but much less dramatically. There was some reduction in the market-prices some law schools charged (defined as average net tuition revenue per full-time JD student), but there were also increases particularly among top-tier law schools, many of which increased their total JD enrollments despite the overall contraction in the market. Those variances in price suggest that there might be considerable complexity behind the enrollment contraction and the price behavior it engendered—a complexity largely masked in the summary reports detailing a significantly smaller market for law school admissions after 2011. Drawing on our previous work for two major law schools, and our modeling of the price behavior across the market for collegiate undergraduate admissions, we set out to develop a set of statistical models capable of predicting the market-prices U.S. law schools were able to charge in 2015. The data for this analysis came from the ABA via the Access Group’s Center for Research and Policy Analysis website—complete enrollment, admissions, program, and staffing data for 171 law schools

Supplemental Education Services under NCLB: Emerging Evidence and Policy Issues

This policy brief analyzes evidence relating to the implementation and effects of the supplemental education services (SES) provision of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The SES provision requires school districts to pay the cost of third-party, after-school tutoring services for eligible students. Four areas of analysis in this brief are: Student eligibility and participation in SES; Services provided by SES firms; State and district implementation; and Impact on student achievement. The data and analyses presented here highlight limitations in the current law and implementation of SES: low participation rates; limited services available for English Language Learners and special education students; and, state and district capacity to implement the law and monitor program quality. Even with improvement in such areas, however, it is unclear how SES might affect academic achievement, because existing research leaves many questions unanswered. Similarly, existing research offers little information about specific conditions that support positive outcomes. To make well-informed decisions in the future, policymakers will require additional empirical evidence. Therefore, it is recommended that policymakers do each of the following: Redesign the law to address the core problem of local administrators lacking fiscal resources and expertise to successfully administer SES programs. Commission federally funded, comprehensive evaluations to determine: (a) to what degree SES may affect student achievement, and (b) to what extent at-risk student populations have access to SES services. Investigate the feasibility and desirability of reallocating Title I funds from SES programs to existing successful state and local reform efforts. Examine and reconsider NCLB's apparent tension between the high-stakes accountability imposed on schools and the more limited measures for holding SES providers accountable for their contributions to student achievement

NEPC Review: School Choice and School Performance in the New York City Public Schools: Will the Past be Prologue?

Over the past decade, big city school systems have scaled-up choice initiativ&shy;es with remarkable speed. In School Choice and School Performance in the New York City Public Schools, Brookings contends that school choice and competition contributed to improved test scores and graduation rates in New York City since the universal high school choice reform began in 2004. However, after the report&rsquo;s lengthy introduction describing and extolling choice and competition, only four pages are dedicated to discussing results, and many of those contentions are problematic. Brookings uses data from several recent reports to conclude that Bloomberg&rsquo;s school reform strategy has paid off academically for the district&rsquo;s students, including low-income and historically disadvantaged students. However, these conclusions are mainly based on causal interpretations of correlational data, and the findings are presented selectively. Similarly, the report&rsquo;s recommendations section, based on Brookings&rsquo; Education Choice and Competition Index, promotes the expansion and development of Bloomberg&rsquo;s programs, without a logical link to the evidence presented. Consequently, the paper belongs more in the genre of weakly supported advocacy pieces rather than research.</p

NEPC Review: Expanding The Education Universe: A Fifty-State Strategy for Course Choice

Based on the presumed success of school choice programs, Expanding the Education Universe: A Fifty-State Strategy for Course Choice seeks to take choice a step further. Each student would design a personal program of online and off-line courses chosen from a marketplace of curricula developed by for-profit and not-for-profit vendors, as well as school districts or other public entities. Such course choice would, the report contends, alleviate transportation problems, provide greater options, and circumvent the restricted offerings even in choice schools. The proposal is presented in the form of a &ldquo;guide&rdquo; to addressing practical policy issues and implementation problems. However, the report assumes, without solid evidence, that course choice, electronic educational provisions, and the like are viable, effective, and proven methods. No direct research is presented, and relevant related research that might support the efficacy of the method is not included. Accordingly, the piece rests entirely on assumptions and assertions. Given the lack of supporting evidence and detail, policymakers and the public have little basis for assessing the benefits and liabilities of a program that potentially has enormous financial costs and educational quality implications for public education.</p

Quantitative Soil Descriptions for Ecoregions of the United States

Researchers have defined and mapped ecological regions of the United States based on similar patterns of ecosystems such as deserts, forests, and croplands. These studies are useful in regional research, monitoring, and environmental management because data can be more readily extrapolated within the same ecoregion and to regions with similar characteristics. The description of ecoregions is largely holistic and qualitative. Conversely, quantitative information for soil are abundant and soil is an important ecosystem component related to many ecoregion properties. We used the nationwide State Soil Geographic database(STATSGO) to describe the soils of 84 Level III ecoregions in the United States. Among the 24 soil characteristics studied were texture, rock fragments, available water capacity, bulk density, and organic matter content. For each ecoregion we developed ranks to describe (i) its similarity to the U.S. average soil characteristics, (ii) the accuracy of predicting those characteristics, (iii) how well the soil map unit boundaries fit within ecoregion boundaries, (iv) the spatial relationship of soils across neighboring ecoregion boundaries, and (v) the homogeneity of texture-rock patterns. We present a national map of soil texture and rock fragments and five soil ranks for each ecoregion, and examine relationship between soils and other ecological components for selected ecoregions. Because soils relate to other ecosystem components such as vegetation, geology, and land use, the soil ranks complement and enrich the qualitative ecoregion descriptions. Similar analyses of physical or biological components of ecoregions will expand the understanding of the ecosystem patterns

The Environmental Polymorphism Registry: A Unique Resource that Facilitates Translational Research of Environmental Disease

Background: Dissecting complex disease has become more feasible because of the availability of large-scale DNA resources and advances in high-throughput genomic technology. Although these tools help scientists identify potential susceptibility loci, subjects with relevant genotypes are needed for clinical phenotyping and toxicity studies