Do Accountability and Voucher Threats Improve Low-Performing Schools?

In this paper we study the effects of the threat of school vouchers and school stigma in Florida on the performance of "low-performing" schools using student-level data from a subset of districts. Estimates of the change in school-level high-stakes test scores from the first year of the reform are consistent with the early results used by the state of Florida to claim large-scale improvements associated with the threat of voucher assignment. However, we also find that much of this estimated effect may be due to other factors. While we estimate a small relative improvement in reading scores on the high-stakes test for voucher-threatened/stigmatized schools, we estimate a much smaller relative improvement on a lower-stakes, nationally norm-referenced, test. Further, the relative gains in reading scores are explained largely by changing student characteristics. We find more evidence for a positive differential effect on math test scores on both the low- and highstakes tests, however, the results from the lower-stakes test appear primarily limited to students in the high-stakes grade. Finally, we find some evidence that the relative improvements following the introduction of the A Plan by low-performing schools were more due to the stigma of receiving the low grade rather than the threat of vouchers.

A design oriented digital design language

A digital design language is presented here which is more consistent with the design sequence of digital computer than existing languages. An ideal design sequence is first investigated and the following desirable design language characteristics obtained. A good design oriented language must be: 1) multi-level, 2) capable of expressing ideas easily, 3) easily understood, 4) machine acceptable, 5) modular and, 6) capable of showing timing and control. It should also be: 1) independent of technology, 2) unrestricted to any particular structural feature such as serial processes, synchronous processes, etc., 3) concise, 4) precise, and 5) non-ambiguous. With regard to these features, the language presented here has a marked improvement over most of the other languages in that it is 1) multi-leveled, 2) modular, 3) capable of showing timing and control clearly, 4) unrestricted to any particular structural features, and 5) is easily understandable...Since this language is closely related to, and enhances flow table representation and can be used to express asynchronous operations, it is of significant value in bridging the now existing gap between digital system design and asynchronous sequential switching theory. The multi-level structuring of the language makes simulation and fault diagnosis easier on both the logic level and the functional level. This is due to the partitioning techniques of the language --Abstract, page ii-iii

A simulation and diagnosis system incorporating various time delay models and functional elements

The application of digital simulation to all phases of digital network design is considered here as oppossed [sic] to development of simulation for one or two restricted parts of the digital process. For this reason a simulator is presented which can be consistent by varying the level of expression from the simulation of architectural structures to such detailed simulation requirements as race analysis of asynchronous sequential circuits. In order to make system simulation more than just an idea, it must be capable of handling large circuits in reasonable times. It is demonstrated that functional simulation has the potential to increase simulation speed while reducing the required storage. This potential is realized with the following features of this simulator structure: 1) a modular structure for specification and execution, 2) the capability of being easily interfaced with gate level simulation, 3) the capability of utilizing the highest level of expression for simulation, 4) a variable level of expression, 5) a relatively unrestricted type of logic that can be simulated, 6) the capabilities of using standard functional modules, 7) a fairly universal means of expressing functional modules and, 8) the use of data and control signals to further force selective trace capabilities on a module level. Greater gate level simulation capabilities are obtained by extending the basic simulator to perform the simulation of undefined signal values and the simulation of ambiguities in signal propagation speeds. The simulator presented here is part of a Test Generation and Simulation System. This system includes preprocessing, combinational test generation, automatic fault insertion as well as simulation --Abstract, page ii

Feeling the Florida Heat? How Low-Performing Schools Respond to Voucher and Accountability Pressure

While numerous recent authors have studied the effects of school accountability systems on student test performance and school "gaming" of accountability incentives, there has been little attention paid to substantive changes in instructional policies and practices resulting from school accountability. The lack of research is primarily due to the unavailability of appropriate data to carry out such an analysis. This paper brings to bear new evidence from a remarkable five-year survey conducted of a census of public schools in Florida, coupled with detailed administrative data on student performance. We show that schools facing accountability pressure changed their instructional practices in meaningful ways. In addition, we present medium-run evidence of the effects of school accountability on student test scores, and find that a significant portion of these test score gains can likely be attributed to the changes in school policies and practices that we uncover in our surveys.

Financial Aid Packages and College Enrollment Decisions: An Econometric Case Study

We study the effects of a change in financial aid policy introduced by a Northeastern university in 1998. Prior to that time, the university's financial aid packages for low-income students consisted of grants, loans, and campus jobs. After the change, the entire loan portion of the package for low-income students was replaced with grants. We find the program increased the likelihood of matriculation by low-income students by about 3 percentage points, although the effect is not statistically significant. The effect among low-income minority students was between 8 and 10 percentage points and statistically significant at the 10 percent level.

Survey of Adult Corn Rootworm Populations in Rotated Cornfields and Relationship to Larval Damage to the Subsequent Corn Crop

Research by Chiang (1965) and Krysan et al. (1984) has demonstrated that eggs of the northern corn rootworm, Djabrotica barberi, are capable of remaining in diapause for longer than a single winter chill period. Subsequently, researchers in several northern Corn Belt states have used controlled environmental and field experiments to confirm the presence of what has come to be known as extended diapause. In 1986 Krysan et al. used empirical evidence provided fortuitously by the Payment-In-Kind program to attribute larval damage in rotated field corn to northern corn rootworms with the extended diapause trait. During 1987 the incidence in Iowa of corn rootworm larval damage in corn grown in an annual rotation with another crop, usually soybeans, made its third consecutive, dramatic increase. The probability of farmers responding by applying a prophylactic soil-insecticide treatment to rotated corn stimulated the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture to support a three-year survey of the seriousness of extended diapause in Northwest Iowa

Assessment of the Placental Cord Insertion Using 3‐Dimensional Ultrasound at the Time of the Structural Fetal Survey

Objectives The influence of placental morphologic characteristics on pregnancy outcomes is poorly understood. Our objective was to evaluate the relationship of the distance of the placental cord insertion from the placental edge (PCI‐D) with associated placental characteristics as well as birth outcomes. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of nulliparous women with singleton gestations undergoing obstetric ultrasound examinations between 14 and 23 weeks’ gestation with a cervical length of greater than 3.0 cm who delivered between 24 and 42 weeks. A 3‐dimensional volume of the placenta was evaluated. The PCI‐D was obtained with Virtual Organ computer‐aided analysis software (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI). Generalized linear regression and generalized additive models were fitted to explore the associations between the PCI‐D in relation to demographic and clinical characteristics. Results A total of 216 pregnancies were included in the analysis. The PCI‐D did not correlate with maternal age, gestational age at delivery, mode of delivery, or 5‐minute Apgar score. Although not statistically significant, the birth weight z score (P = .09) was associated with a longer PCI‐D, and gravidity was associated with a shorter PCI‐D (P = .10). A low‐lying placenta or placenta previa was associated with a longer PCI‐D (P = .03). Conclusions The PCI‐D is associated with a low placental position in the second trimester. These data are helpful for understanding placental development. The PCI‐D may be associated with pregnancy‐related factors such as birth weight and multigravidity. More research is required to evaluate the effects of pregnancy‐related factors on the PCI‐D and the effect of the PCI‐D on pregnancy outcomes

Benefit Plan Cybersecurity Considerations: A Recordkeeper and Plan Perspective

The U.S. has no comprehensive national law governing cybersecurity and no uniform framework for measuring the effectiveness of protections, though retirement plan record keepers maintain the personally identifiable information on millions of workers, collecting names, birth dates, social security numbers, and beneficiaries. Plan sponsors frequently engage consultants and attorneys to help them secure sensitive data, but more work is necessary to engage a larger discussion around this issue. The SPARK Institute has outlined a flexible approach for an independent third-party reporting of cyber security capabilities with several key control objectives