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1. The Effect of Black Peers on Black Test Scores

Author

University of Arkansas, Education Working Paper Archive, Armor, David J., and Duck, Stephanie

Abstract

Recent studies have used increasingly complex methodologies to estimate the effect of peer characteristics--race, poverty, and ability--on student achievement. A paper by Hanushek, Kain, and Rivkin using Texas state testing data has received particularly wide attention because it found a large negative effect of school percent black on black math achievement. This paper replicates the HKR models using state testing data from North and South Carolina and national testing data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. The replications fail to support the Texas results. In most models tested, black peer effects are small and not statistically significant, and in the few instances where effects are significant, they are much weaker than those found in Texas. Moreover, it appears that computational problems in the HKR study led to incorrect estimates for black peer effects. An appendix is included. (Contains 8 tables, 5 figures and 15 footnotes.)

Published
2007

2. School Quality and the Black-White Achievement Gap

Author

University of Arkansas, Education Working Paper Archive, Hanushek, Eric A., and Rivkin, Steven G.

Abstract

Substantial uncertainty exists about the impact of school quality on the black-white achievement gap. Our results, based on both Texas Schools Project (TSP) administrative data and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey (ECLS), differ noticeably from other recent analyses of the black-white achievement gap by providing strong evidence that schools have a substantial effect on the differential. The majority of the expansion of the achievement gap with age occurs between rather than within schools, and specific school and peer factors exert a significant effect on the growth in the achievement gap. Unequal distributions of inexperienced teachers and of racial concentrations in schools can explain all of the increased achievement gap between grades 3 and 8. Moreover, non-random sample attrition for school changers and much higher rates of special education classification and grade retention for blacks appears to lead to a significant understatement of the increase in the achievement gap with age within the ECLS and other data sets. (Contains 20 tables, 2 figures and 42 footnotes.) An appendix is included which develops the decomposition presented in equation (1). [Support for this work has been provided by the Packard Humanities Institute.]

Published
2007

3. Weighted Student Formula: Putting Funds Where They Count in Education Reform

Author

University of Arkansas, Education Working Paper Archive, Cooper, Bruce S., DeRoche, Timothy R., Ouchi, William G., Segal, Lydia G., and Brown, Carolyn

Abstract

Ever since the publication of "A Nation At Risk" in 1983, Americans have been preoccupied with two problems regarding public education: (1) student performance is unsatisfactory to most Americans despite large increases in real spending per student; and despite several attempts at reforming curricula, teacher training, testing, and other elements of education; and (2) the nation's schools see a large and persistent gap in scores on standardized tests between white and Asian students on the one hand and black and Hispanics on the other. Reform, however, has been hindered by a deep philosophical divide within the school reform community. On the one hand, the radical "market" reformers believe that public school districts are public monopolies unresponsive to the needs of their "customers" and incapable of change. Members of this group support vouchers, charters, tax credits, etc. On the other hand, the more moderate, "internal" reformers believe that public school districts simply need more support and better management. These advocates generally tend to favor decentralization, public school choice, lower class sizes, increased spending per pupil, etc. Recently, a reform program has emerged that may well lead to some consensus between many members of "both" groups. This reform is Weighted Student Formula (WSF), a system of per-pupil budgeting that is now used in three large North American districts: Edmonton, Seattle, and Houston. In a WSF system, dollars are allocated to each student, and these funds follow the student to the local school. Children with greater needs--be they poor or disabled or non-English speaking--receive a higher allocation, giving schools the ability to provide extra services to these needy students, knowing that the weighted funds will "follow" the student to the school and classroom. Local educators are then given much discretion to determine how best to meet the educational needs of their student population. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) Compare and contrast the WSF systems used in Edmonton, Seattle, and Houston; (2) Highlight how WSF is different from the resource allocation systems used in most urban districts, especially New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles; and (3) Make recommendations about how a district can implement WSF successfully, based on the lessons from Edmonton, Seattle, and Houston. (Contains 10 tables and 4 figures.)

Published
2006

4. “You Are Not Alone” Strategies for Addressing Mental Health and Health Promotion with a Refugee Women's Sewing Group.

Author

Salt, Rebekah J., Costantino, Margaret E., Dotson, Emma L., and Paper, Bruce M.

Subjects
COMPETENCY assessment (Law), PSYCHOLOGICAL stress, ACTION research, CONTENT analysis, HEALTH promotion, REFUGEES, RESEARCH evaluation, SOCIAL stigma, T-test (Statistics), CULTURAL awareness, SOCIAL support, COMMUNICATION barriers, FIELD notes (Science)
Abstract

Resettlement can be an uncertain time for refugees as they have often suffered life-threatening circumstances prior to flight from their countries, yet few resettlement programs screen for mental health. The purpose of this study was to pilot the Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15) to assess mental health and the Pathways to Wellness intervention to identify internal and structural barriers affecting resettlement with a refugee women's sewing group. Community collaborations that create healthy social and physical environments through access to resources, economic opportunities, and social support promote a holistic approach to health and can improve quality of life for this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Published
2017
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5. Effects of diaper types on diaper dermatitis associated with diarrhea and antibiotic use in children in day-care centers.

Author

Campbell RL, Bartlett AV, Sarbaugh FC, and Pickering LK

Subjects
Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Candida albicans isolation & purification, Child Day Care Centers, Diarrhea, Infantile complications, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Infant, Prospective Studies, Random Allocation, Skin microbiology, Staphylococcus aureus isolation & purification, Texas, Urine, Diaper Rash etiology, Diarrhea, Infantile epidemiology, Infant Care
Abstract

Infants and toddlers in day-care centers have a relatively high frequency of diarrhea and/or oral antibiotic use, and may be at increased risk of developing diaper dermatitis when diapered. A six-month, prospective, double-blind study was conducted in day-care centers in Houston, Texas, to determine the frequency of diarrhea, antibiotic use, and diaper dermatitis in infants and toddlers wearing conventional (cellulose-only core) disposable diapers or disposable diapers with a core of absorbent gelling material (AGM) and cellulose. A questionnaire was administered weekly to the day-care staff to gather health information, and weekly visual examinations were made of children for diaper dermatitis. The frequency of diarrhea was 1.9 episodes per child-year and that of antibiotic use was 3.3 courses per child-year. Infants diapered in disposable diapers with AGM had a significantly (P 0.032) lower mean grade of diaper dermatitis during diarrhea episodes and a lower (P 0.054) mean grade during antibiotic use, compared to those diapered in conventional disposable diapers. There was no significant difference between groups with regard to isolation of Staphylococcus aureus or Candida albicans from superficial skin cultures of the diapered area. The results indicate that diarrhea and antibiotic use occur frequently in children in day-care centers, and that the severity of diaper dermatitis is less in children wearing AGM disposable diapers than those wearing conventional disposable diapers in that setting.

Published
1988
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