A Comprehensive Examination of the School District of Philadelphia’s Kindergarten Classroom Engagement Scale (CES): Validation Report

The Penn Child Research Center and School District of Philadelphia (SDP) have partnered to foster the classroom engagement skills of students entering public school kindergarten. To do so, a three-phase, evidence-based, plan was developed. The first phase was to establish the scientific validity and reliability of the District’s measure of classroom engagement currently used at-scale with all kindergarteners–the Classroom Engagement Scale (CES). This measure consists of 14 items and it appears on the kindergarten report card which is sent home quarterly. This report contains the findings from the validation study.https://repository.upenn.edu/pennchild_reports/1000/thumbnail.jp

The Classroom Engagement Scale: Validity Evidence and Implications for Use

This research brief describes the validation of the Classroom Engagement Scale for use in kindergarten based on it current full-scale use in the School District of Philadelphia. It provides the foundation for more meaningful use of the scale by parents and teachers as they work to build social-emotional competencies in kindergarten students.https://repository.upenn.edu/pennchild_briefs/1001/thumbnail.jp

Using Integrated Data to Understand Early Childhood Risks and Access to Quality Early Childhood Education

These slides were presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Antonio, Texas. The session was titled Data-Driven Decision Making: Not the Usual Contexts.https://repository.upenn.edu/pennchild_presentations/1000/thumbnail.jp

The Use of Integrated Data to Inform Quality Pre-K Expansion in Philadelphia

This research brief describes how integrated administrative data from the City of Philadelphia\u27s CARES data system were used to inform the expansion of pre-k services in the City of Philadelphia. It provides a model for other states and municipalities seeking to use integrated data to inform policy-making, particularly for young children and their families.https://repository.upenn.edu/pennchild_briefs/1000/thumbnail.jp

Expanding First Generation Student Support Services at VCU

This project aims to increase first-generation student outcomes by taking existing YouFirst programming to scale. The team proposes to expand university outreach and to leverage expanded engagement into the construction of a First Gen Network through a university-wide ambassador program. This network will grow programming over the next three to five years through annual faculty and staff outreach and the creation of a pipeline for cross-unit communication and collaboration

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

The Other Kids on the Rug: An Examination of Academic-Based Peer Effects in Kindergarten

Kindergarten is unique with respect to U.S. education policy. At no other time in their academic lives do children with such different prior-year educational experiences come together to form a classroom community, where they will learn with and from their peers. Yet, despite an assumption by parents and educators that peers matter, the relationship between the baseline achievement level of a child’s kindergarten classmates and the child’s learning during kindergarten is not well understood. Prior studies of early childhood peer effects have focused mostly on racial, gender, and socioeconomic classroom compositions, not on malleable, endogenous factors like academic skills. This study uses the national Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011) to examine the association between classmate reading/mathematics scores at school entry and individual reading/mathematics learning in kindergarten. It is the first study to do so. Multilevel multivariate regression and a rich collection of individual, family, classroom, and school control variables are used to surface peer influence for reading and mathematics, and to determine if peer influence varies by baseline achievement level. The results indicate that class baseline skills are significant predictors of kindergarten year learning for both reading and mathematics. For reading, students with relatively low baseline skills appear more sensitive to changes in the class mean compared to students with higher baseline skills. For mathematics, there was no difference in sensitivity to peer effects between higher- and lower-achieving students. The findings indicate that peer skill level is an important factor associated with academic achievement in kindergarten. In fact, it appears to be more predictive of academic growth than other commonly used indicators of classroom quality. This study also revealed differences in the ways peer effects operate for reading and mathematics during kindergarten. These results call for researchers and policymakers to further investigate how peers contribute to the quality of the classroom environment, why observed subject matter differences may exist, and how interventions can create more equitable distributions of students within communities, schools, and classrooms

The Other Kids On The Rug: An Examination Of Academic-Based Peer Effects In Kindergarten

Kindergarten is unique with respect to U.S. education policy. At no other time in their academic lives do children with such different prior-year educational experiences come together to form a classroom community, where they will learn with and from their peers. Yet, despite an assumption by parents and educators that peers matter, the relationship between the baseline achievement level of a child’s kindergarten classmates and the child’s learning during kindergarten is not well understood. Prior studies of early childhood peer effects have focused mostly on racial, gender, and socioeconomic classroom compositions, not on malleable, endogenous factors like academic skills. This study uses the national Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011) to examine the association between classmate reading/mathematics scores at school entry and individual reading/mathematics learning in kindergarten. It is the first study to do so. Multilevel multivariate regression and a rich collection of individual, family, classroom, and school control variables are used to surface peer influence for reading and mathematics, and to determine if peer influence varies by baseline achievement level. The results indicate that class baseline skills are significant predictors of kindergarten year learning for both reading and mathematics. For reading, students with relatively low baseline skills appear more sensitive to changes in the class mean compared to students with higher baseline skills. For mathematics, there was no difference in sensitivity to peer effects between higher- and lower-achieving students. The findings indicate that peer skill level is an important factor associated with academic achievement in kindergarten. In fact, it appears to be more predictive of academic growth than other commonly used indicators of classroom quality. This study also revealed differences in the ways peer effects operate for reading and mathematics during kindergarten. These results call for researchers and policymakers to further investigate how peers contribute to the quality of the classroom environment, why observed subject matter differences may exist, and how interventions can create more equitable distributions of students within communities, schools, and classrooms

Assessing the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of primary care clinicians toward pharmacogenetics

IntroductionPharmacogenetics (PGx) testing is becoming increasingly available to patients and clinicians, but investigations of PGx testing in primary care and the pharmacist’s role in educating clinicians have been limited.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to: (a) determine the utilization of PGx testing in primary care clinics, (b) identify how clinicians document and act on PGx test results, and (c) determine clinician interest in PGx education or consultation from pharmacists.MethodsA 16‐item survey was distributed via email. Eligible participants included physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who work in family medicine, general medicine, geriatric, or pediatric primary care clinics at one academic medical center. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the frequency of PGx tests ordered in primary care clinics, provider comfort with PGx test interpretation, documentation practices, and interest in PGx education or consultation from pharmacists.ResultsThe overall survey response rate was 15.8% (n = 55). Most respondents were physicians (84%). Nearly 40% of respondents reported having a patient bring PGx test results to a visit, while only 9% reported ordering a PGx test. Documentation practices were variable, and response to PGx results was most commonly no change in therapy (52%). Only two (3.6%) respondents agreed with the statement, “I feel confident in my ability to interpret PGx test results,” and the majority reported interest in PGx education. Eighty percent of respondents reported they would be likely or very likely to consult a PGx‐trained pharmacist for help interpreting PGx results.DiscussionClinicians in this survey were more likely to have patients bring in results than to order PGx tests, did not feel confident in result interpretation, and expressed interest in working with pharmacists for PGx test interpretation. This research can help guide the development of PGx‐focused pharmacy services and education for clinicians who are encountering PGx testing in their practice.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166164/1/jac51341.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166164/2/jac51341_am.pd