Predicting Academic Success of Entering Freshmen at an Urban University Through the Assessment of Oral and Written Language Competency

In Moores and Klas\u27 (1989) definitive study on college student retention, postsecondary administrators ranked the maintenance of student enrollment second in importance on a list of twenty critical issues facing higher education. Of particular relevance to college administrators has been the retention and graduation of African-American college students (D. B. Hawkins, 1994; Western Reserve, 1991). Researchers, in considering the overall problem of student attrition, particularly, among African-Americans, have explored such questions as these: Which students are dropping out (Sherman, Giles and Green, 1994; Robinson, 1992)? Why do they discontinue their studies (Austin, 1982; Bohr et al., 1995; Kraft, 1992; Tinto, 1975)? Why is the problem especially serious among African-American students (Ball, 1992; Carris, 1995; Miller, 1990)? Are the traditional prediction and placement measures failing to accurately identify those entering freshmen students with the potential to succeed and those who may require intervention to succeed (Bridgeman & Wendler, 1991; Cole, 1987; Wambach & Brothern, 1989)? If so, are there ways to improve on the process? Would using an alternative or supplementary measure more effectively predict which college students are likely to succeed and which students are likely to succeed in college with intervention? The majority of colleges utilize prediction measures such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the American College Testing Program (ACT) and high school grade point average (HGPA); and, placement measures such as the Nelson Denny Reading Test, the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) test and writing essays to determine the potential for academic success among freshmen entrants (Lederman et al., 1986; N. V. Wood, 1989). An investigation of the effectiveness of using an alternative language-based measure (that assesses a freshman\u27s speaking, listening, reading and writing skills), the Test of Adolescent and Adult Language (TOAL-3), for predicting academic success and assuring a fairer evaluation process and greater precision in the identification and placement of entering freshmen was the focus of this proposed study. Interestingly, colleges have traditionally ignored a student\u27s level of communication competence (e.g., speaking, listening, reading and writing) in predicting academic achievement (Rubin & Graham, 1988). The academic performance of African-American freshmen constituted a sub-theme, suggested by the higher dropout rates found among this population (Minorities in Higher Education, 1994). This study found that there was no statistically significant difference in the ability of the TOAL-3, when compared to the SAT, DRP and WSPT, to predict first semester grade point average (FGPA) based on language competency, among entering freshmen students in general. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the TOAL-3 and the WSPT in identifying entering freshmen students as either Predicted Success (PS) or Potential Difficulty (PD). There was a statistically significant difference between the TOAL-3 and the SAT as a function of race and gender in identifying freshmen students as either Predicted Success (PS) or Potential Difficulty (PD). There was also a statistically significant difference between the TOAL-3 and the WSPT, in forecasting which freshmen students identified as Predicted Success (PS) would achieve the criterion variable as a function of gender. However, because of the small sample size, caution should be utilized in interpreting these findings

Correction to: First results on survival from a large Phase 3 clinical trial of an autologous dendritic cell vaccine in newly diagnosed glioblastoma

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in the spelling of one of the author names. In this Correction the incorrect and correct author names are indicated and the author name has been updated in the original publication. The authors also reported an error in the Methods section of the original article. In this Correction the incorrect and correct versions of the affected sentence are indicated. The original article has not been updated with regards to the error in the Methods section.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144529/1/12967_2018_Article_1552.pd

White Matter Disruption in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Results from ENIGMA Pediatric Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

ObjectiveOur study addressed aims: (1) test the hypothesis that moderate-severe TBI in pediatric patients is associated with widespread white matter (WM) disruption; (2) test the hypothesis that age and sex impact WM organization after injury; and (3) examine associations between WM organization and neurobehavioral outcomes.MethodsData from ten previously enrolled, existing cohorts recruited from local hospitals and clinics were shared with the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Pediatric msTBI working group. We conducted a coordinated analysis of diffusion MRI (dMRI) data using the ENIGMA dMRI processing pipeline.ResultsFive hundred and seven children and adolescents (244 with complicated mild to severe TBI [msTBI] and 263 controls) were included. Patients were clustered into three post-injury intervals: acute/subacute - <2 months, post-acute - 2-6 months, chronic - 6+ months. Outcomes were dMRI metrics and post-injury behavioral problems as indexed by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Our analyses revealed altered WM diffusion metrics across multiple tracts and all post-injury intervals (effect sizes ranging between d=-0.5 to -1.3). Injury severity is a significant contributor to the extent of WM alterations but explained less variance in dMRI measures with increasing time post-injury. We observed a sex-by-group interaction: females with TBI had significantly lower fractional anisotropy in the uncinate fasciculus than controls (?=0.043), which coincided with more parent-reported behavioral problems (?=-0.0027).ConclusionsWM disruption after msTBI is widespread, persistent, and influenced by demographic and clinical variables. Future work will test techniques for harmonizing neurocognitive data, enabling more advanced analyses to identify symptom clusters and clinically-meaningful patient subtypes

Correction to: First results on survival from a large Phase 3 clinical trial of an autologous dendritic cell vaccine in newly diagnosed glioblastoma

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in the spelling of one of the author names. In this Correction the incorrect and correct author names are indicated and the author name has been updated in the original publication. The authors also reported an error in the Methods section of the original article. In this Correction the incorrect and correct versions of the affected sentence are indicated. The original article has not been updated with regards to the error in the Methods section