Search

Academic English (AE) refers to the language used in school to help students acquire and use knowledge. This article reviews current literature to determine what is known about the nature of AE within the context of K–12 schooling. It describes how AE is conceptualized in the education research literature, how these conceptualizations are realized in instructional practices, and the implications of these conceptualizations for teacher education and professional development. The student population that is the primary focus of the article is English language learners, but the findings have implications for all students who struggle with learning AE. The article raises critical challenges in defining and operationalizing AE for instruction and suggests areas for further inquiry.

The objective was to examine the impact of different types of accommodations on performance in content tests such as mathematics. The meta-analysis included 14 U.S. studies that randomly assigned school-aged English language learners (ELLs) to test accommodation versus control conditions or used repeated measures in counter-balanced order. Individual effect sizes (Glass's d) were calculated for 50 groups of ELLs and 32 groups of non-ELLs. Individual effect sizes for English language and native language accommodations were classified into groups according to type of accommodation and timing conditions. Means and standard errors were calculated for each category. The findings suggest that accommodations that require extra printed materials need generous time limits for both the accommodated and unaccommodated groups to ensure that they are effective, equivalent in scale to the original test, and therefore more valid owing to reduced construct-irrelevant variance. Computer-administered glossaries were effective even when time limits were restricted. Although the Plain English accommodation had very small average effect sizes, inspection of individual effect sizes suggests that it may be much more effective for ELLs at intermediate levels of English language proficiency. For Spanish-speaking students with low proficiency in English, the Spanish test version had the highest individual effect size (+1.45).

Cell polarity and adhesion are thought to be key determinants in organismal development. In Drosophila, discs large (dlg) has emerged as an important regulator of epithelial cell proliferation, adhesion, and polarity. Herein, we investigated the role of the mouse homolog of dlg (Dlg-1) in the development of the mouse ocular lens. Tissue-specific ablation of Dlg-1 throughout the lens early in lens development led to an expansion and disorganization of the epithelium that correlated with changes in the distribution of adhesion and polarity factors. In the fiber cells, differentiation defects were observed. These included alterations in cell structure and the disposition of cell adhesion/cytoskeletal factors, delay in denucleation, and reduced levels of alpha-catenin, pERK1/2, and MIP26. These fiber cell defects were recapitulated when Dlg-1 was disrupted only in fiber cells. These results suggest that Dlg-1 acts in a cell autonomous manner to regulate epithelial cell structure and fiber cell differentiation.

The use of accommodations has been widely proposed as a means of including English language learners (ELLs) or limited English proficient (LEP) students in state and districtwide assessments. However, very little experimental research has been done on specific accommodations to determine whether these pose a threat to score comparability. This study examined the effects of linguistic simplification of 4th- and 6th-grade science test items on a state assessment. At each grade level, 4 experimental 10-item testlets were included on operational forms of a statewide science assessment. Two testlets contained regular field-test items, but in a linguistically simplified condition. The testlets were randomly assigned to LEP and non-LEP students through the spiraling of test booklets. For non-LEP students, in 4 t-test analyses of the differences in means for each corresponding testlet, 3 of the mean score comparisons were not significantly different, and the 4th showed the regular version to be slightly easier th...

Contents: Preface. C. Rivera, E. Collum, Introduction: Including and Accounting for English Language Learners in State Assessment Systems. C. Rivera, E. Collum, L.S. Willner, J.K. Sia, Jr., Study 1: An Analysis of State Assessment Policies Regarding Accommodation of English Language Learners. C.W. Stansfield, M. Bowles, Study 2: Test Translation and State Assessment Policies for English Language Learners. M.L. Thurlow, D. Albus, K.K. Liu, C. Rivera, Study 3: State Practices for Reporting Participation and Performance of English Language Learners in State Assessments. C. Rivera, E. Collum, Conclusion.

The development of specialized organs is tightly linked to the regulation of cell growth, orientation, migration and adhesion during embryogenesis. In addition, the directed movements of cells and their orientation within the plane of a tissue, termed planar cell polarity (PCP), appear to be crucial for the proper formation of the body plan. In Drosophila embryogenesis, Discs large (dlg) plays a critical role in apical-basal cell polarity, cell adhesion and cell proliferation. Craniofacial defects in mice carrying an insertional mutation in Dlgh-1 suggest that Dlgh-1 is required for vertebrate development. To determine what roles Dlgh-1 plays in vertebrate development, we generated mice carrying a null mutation in Dlgh-1. We found that deletion of Dlgh-1 caused open eyelids, open neural tube, and misorientation of cochlear hair cell stereociliary bundles, indicative of defects in planar cell polarity (PCP). Deletion of Dlgh-1 also caused skeletal defects throughout the embryo. These findings identify novel roles for Dlgh-1 in vertebrates that differ from its well-characterized roles in invertebrates and suggest that the Dlgh-1 null mouse may be a useful animal model to study certain human congenital birth defects.

Many people in education hope that reform will bring positive change for all students in the United States. However, Mark LaCelle-Peterson and Charlene Rivera argue in this article that, unless educational reformers reflect seriously on the implications of assessment reform for specific groups of students, among them students whose first language is not English, little meaningful change will occur. The authors present a demographic profile of English language learners, propose a definition of educational equity and excellence, and outline the range of educational goals the definition implies. They argue that it is erroneous to assume that changes that affect monolingual English students favorably will automatically do the same for English language learners, and offer options and recommendations for more appropriate assessment policy and practice for English language learners.

Previously, we have shown that constitutively active Ack1 (caAck1) directly binds and tyrosine phosphorylates the androgen receptor (AR), resulting in ligand-independent AR activity. Moreover, caAck1 transforms LNCaP cells into androgen independent and highly invasive tumors in nude mice. However, the role of Ack1 in prostate cancer initiation and progression within the context of a complex organ remains poorly understood. To address this question, we generated transgenic mice expressing the caAck1 transgene throughout the prostate epithelium, driven by a modified rat probasin promoter. PbAck1 mice were then crossed to genetically engineered mice (Pten+/-and TgAP-T121) which develop murine prostate intraepithelial neoplasias (mPIN) or adenocarcinoma. PbAck1 prostates presented focal hyperplasia and nuclear atypia as early as 16 weeks of age. These prostatic lesions progressed to mPIN as detected in prostates from 49 weeks old PbAck1 mice. Crossing of PbAck1 mice to TgAPT121 mice resulted in accelerated onset of adenocarcinoma which was detected as early as 24 weeks of age. Furthermore, the apoptotic index was reduced by 50% in bi-transgenic prostates when compared to single TgAPT121 prostates. An increase in serine-phospho-p65 was also observed in the bi-transgenic when compared to the TgAPT121 prostates. PbAck1;Pten+/- compound mice presented mPIN lesions as early as 16 weeks of age; a 20 week acceleration. Increased Ki67 and phospho-serine Akt immunostaining correlated with loss of PTEN immunostaining, suggesting PTEN loss of heterozygosity. In summary, these data present evidence that Ack-1's oncogenic activity can promote the initiation and progression of prostate cancer in vivo.

The AKT/PKB kinase is a key signaling component of one of the most frequently activated pathways in cancer and is a major target of cancer drug development. Most studies have focused on its activation by Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (RTK) mediated Phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K) activation or loss of Phosphatase and Tensin homolog (PTEN). We have uncovered that growth factors binding to RTKs lead to activation of a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, Ack1 (also known as ACK or TNK2), which directly phosphorylates AKT at an evolutionarily conserved tyrosine 176 in the kinase domain. Tyr176-phosphorylated AKT localizes to the plasma membrane and promotes Thr308/Ser473-phosphorylation leading to AKT activation. Mice expressing activated Ack1 specifically in the prostate exhibit AKT Tyr176-phosphorylation and develop murine prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (mPINs). Further, expression levels of Tyr176-phosphorylated-AKT and Tyr284-phosphorylated-Ack1 were positively correlated with the severity of disease progression, and inversely correlated with the survival of breast cancer patients. Thus, RTK/Ack1/AKT pathway provides a novel target for drug discovery.

Passage of the Bilingual Education Act in 1968, the upholding of the Lau vs. Nichols decision in 1974, and the subsequent “Remedies” Task Force of 1975 have focused attention on the identification of language minority students based on their English language proficiency. The legal assumption, as seen through the Remedies, is that it is possible to measure language minority students’ language proficiency and, based on this assessment, to make recommendations for their placement in monolingual, English as a Second Language (ESL), and/or Bilingual Education programs. The issues of language assessment and placement raise several important questions which are the focus of this article. • What are the basic premises upon which current language assessment instruments have been developed? • What is the state of the art in language proficiency assessment? • What implications do current research findings have for language proficiency assessment?

The Military Educators Resource Network (MERN) is a part of the Basic Skills Resource Center which provides military educators with information on basic skills and continuing education. This design plan (1) synthesizes the result of a needs assessment; (2) provides an overview of planning considerations for the MERN information center; and (3) details the resources needed to develop the MERN document collection and database. Keywords: Adult education; Army continuing education system; Army education information system; Computer-based information systems; Computer applications; Information centers; Information systems; Technical information centers.

The standardization methodology was used to analyze omitted responses of Hispanic examinees on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Results indicate that both Mexican-Americans and Puerto Rican students omitted less than White students of comparable ability but that Mexicans Americans tended to omit even less. Examination of items with the least differential omit rate by both Hispanic groups indicate that items with true cognates or words with a common root in English and Spanish were omitted differentially less. Some dependency on ability level was observed for the omit patters of Puerto Rican examinees.

In this investigation, the validity of observer reports versus student self-reports of race and ethnicity in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for ages 9, 13, and 17 were evaluated. Data from seven surveys (1975-1984) were analyzed, with sample sizes ranging from 15,859 to 38,899. While the concordance between the two methods for both White and Black students was very high (95% or better), the two classifications gave very disparate results for the other four racial/ethnic groups. For example, observers undercounted self-identified Hispanic 17–year-olds by 25% to 48%. Language background was significantly (p < .0001) more consistent with self-identification than with observer reports for 17-year-old Hispanic students which showed that self reports were more valid than observed ethnicity in this age group. However, the results for ages 9 and 13 were less clear-cut. The implications of the findings for continuity in NAEP data sets and the validity of reported group achievement data for Hispanic students are discussed.

The focus of this volume is on those theoretical, psychometric and practical issues which pose a challenge to the measurement of language proficiency. The complexity and difficulty of defining communicative competence and identifying valid and appropriate approaches for its measurement among students with limited English skills is reflected both by the researchers and educators who contributed to the volume. In addition to, adding, highlighting, positing or negating current findings and perspectives regarding communicative competence, the perspectives represented in the volume, provide valuable information about the nature of children's language use, its assessment and the role of first and second language in academic achievement. The book is divided into two sections which demonstrate the need for continued multidisciplinary dialogue among researchers and practitioners. Approaches to Communicative Competence This part of the book centers on current perspectives and research. The individual chapters in their diversity, pose a challenge both for those attempting to use communicative competence to interpret the results of currently used language proficiency measures as well as for those attempting to develop valid language assessment instruments from a communicative competence perspective. Application The attempt to better understand communicative competence has resulted in a wide range of applied research within the context of bilingual and immersion education. The chapters, included here are representative of the research undertaken to explore practical and valid ways to assess language competencies and to define their role in the educational placement of students with limited English skills.