scholarly journals Subsidizing Test Prep

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Maxwell Tingle
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Low Income ◽  
College Success ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
College Preparedness ◽  
Policy Proposal ◽  
Income Disparities ◽  
College Going ◽  
Policies And Programs

Subsidizing Test Prep is a policy proposal that addresses racial and income disparities in collegegoing and college success. Standardized tests are intended to measure college preparedness but have instead become measures of income, as students who can afford higher-quality test prep tend to receive higher scores. In effect, low-income students have comparatively lower standardized test scores and subsequently face lower rates of college-going and college-success. A national subsidy of standardized test prep will try to: 1) mitigate racial and income disparities in college-going and college success, 2) equalize opportunity for lowincome students in college admissions, and 3) help make standardized tests an indicator of achievement rather than income. I argue that the policy is politically feasible and project that it will cost approximately $360 million annually. The subsidy has the potential to be more efficient, in its effect and cost, than similar policies and programs.

Predicting academic success for students of color within STEM majors

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gipson
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
College Success ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Gpa ◽  
High School Gpa

Purpose The aim of this study is to determine what pre-college characteristics predict college success for students of color enrolled within science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, as measured by cumulative grade point average (GPA) after three years of initial enrollment. Design/methodology/approach To increase the generalizability by avoiding a single-year focus, the sample includes 954 first-year students entering one predominantly White research university during Fall 2010, Fall 2011 and Fall 2012 (Allen and Bir, 2011); GPAs were collected following three years of initial enrollment. IBM statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) Statistics 22 was utilized to conduct correlation and multiple linear regression analyses. Findings Within all conditional models, after controlling for multiple variables, the number of advanced placement (AP) credits, standardized test scores and specific type of high school GPA were significantly related to cumulative college GPA after three years of enrollment. However, when multiple forms of high school GPA were included within a full model, only the number of AP credits and standardized test scores remained statistically related to cumulative college GPA. Further, high school core GPA is more strongly correlated with cumulative college GPA after three years of enrollment than overall high school GPA, high school science GPA and high school mathematics GPA. Originality/value This study adds to prior research by identifying that high school core GPA is an important predictor of college success and that the cumulative effect of enrollment within AP credits may be more beneficial than the cumulative effect of involvement within dual enrollment courses.

Comparing Harm Done by Mobility and Class Absence: Missing Students and Missing Data

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle C. Dunn ◽  
Joseph B. Kadane ◽  
John R. Garrow
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Changing Schools ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Relationships

This article addresses the relationship between academic achievement and the student characteristics of absence and mobility. Mobility is a measure of how often a student changes schools. Absence is how often a student misses class. Standardized test scores are used as proxies for academic achievement. A model for the full joint distribution of the parameters and the data, both missing and observed, is postulated. After priors are elicited, a Metropolis-Hastings algorithm within a Gibbs sampler is used to evaluate the posterior distributions of the model parameters for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Results are given in two stages. First, mobility and absence are shown to have, with high probability, negative relationships with academic achievement. Second, the posterior for mobility is viewed in terms of the equivalent harm done by absence: changing schools at least once in the three year period, 1998–2000, has an impact on standardized tests administered in the spring of 2000 equivalent to being absent about 14 days in 1999–2000 or 32 days in 1998–1999.

“A Ditcher and a Scholar”: Figuring College-Going Identities in an Urban Magnet High School

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Julia C. Duncheon ◽  
Stefani R. Relles
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
College Readiness ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Magnet School ◽  
Regular School ◽  
College Going ◽  
Magnet High School

Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have focused on defining, measuring, and developing students’ college readiness, or the preparation required to persist in higher education. While this work has been useful to identify the ingredients of postsecondary success, the emphasis on individual achievement runs the risk of portraying marginalized students as deficient. Culturally relevant studies that highlight institutional accountability for college readiness are needed to inform policy and practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Using Holland and colleagues’ (1998) figured worlds theory, this study examines college readiness through the lens of student identity in an urban magnet high school. We investigate how first-generation, low-income students of color interpreted and negotiated local discourses and artifacts to “figure” college-going identities—that is, who they should become and how they should behave to earn a college degree. The purpose of this empirical approach is to contribute information that can inform college readiness efforts nationwide. Research Design The study utilizes an ethnographic approach that focused on how students conceptualized and developed their identities within the figured world of the magnet school. Data collection took place over the course of one school year and included over 200 hours of participant observation, in-depth interviews with 25 students and school staff, and document analysis. Findings The figured world of Jackson Magnet fostered and reinforced a hierarchy that consisted of magnet students (“scholars”) and their counterparts in the regular school (“ditchers”). A local feedback loop implied that the magnet school provided more rigorous college preparation than the regular school and, by extension, magnet students figured they would be ready for college. However, real-world feedback (standardized test scores) suggested magnet course rigor did not accurately reflect postsecondary standards. The result was that magnet students were underprepared but did not know it, an outcome that positioned them to experience a drastic identity reckoning in college. Conclusions/Recommendations While most college-readiness research focuses on academic skills preparation, our findings reveal the need to consider how high schools prepare students in terms of identity. In particular, our data suggest the threat of well-intentioned achievement discourses on pre-college identity development. Salient questions include whether and how to increase postsecondary opportunity without socializing students either to discriminate against their peers or to figure a false identity that undermines preparation and future cognitive stability.

Soundoff: Coaching for Standardized Tests: Efficacy and Ethics

1987 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 424-426
Author(s):  
Pamela George
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Defensive Strategy

With the increasing use of standardized tests in the schools and the pressures on educators to improve the standing of classes, schools, and districts, a new defensive strategy has emerged for improving standardized test scores—coaching for the tests. The popular use of the term coaching means training students for specific types of questions and information required by a specific standardized test. This kind of training has become widespread in classrooms and among students nationwide.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic: the implications of the natural history, challenges of diagnosis and management for care in sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Omo-Aghoja ◽  
Emuesiri Goodies Moke ◽  
Kenneth Kelechi Anachuna ◽  
Adrian Itivere Omogbiya ◽  
Emuesiri Kohworho Umukoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Diagnosis And Management ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Infection ◽  
Identification Technique ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Policies And Programs

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection which has afflicted virtually almost all nations of the earth. It is highly transmissible and represents one of the most serious pandemics in recent times, with the capacity to overwhelm any healthcare system and cause morbidity and fatality. Main content The diagnosis of this disease is daunting and challenging as it is dependent on emerging clinical symptomatology that continues to increase and change very rapidly. The definitive test is the very expensive and scarce polymerase chain reaction (PCR) viral identification technique. The management has remained largely supportive and empirical, as there are no officially approved therapeutic agents, vaccines or antiviral medications for the management of the disease. Severe cases often require intensive care facilities and personnel. Yet there is paucity of facilities including the personnel required for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is against this backdrop that a review of key published reports on the pandemic in SSA and globally is made, as understanding the natural history of a disease and the documented responses to diagnosis and management is usually a key public health strategy for designing and improving as appropriate, relevant interventions. Lead findings were that responses by most nations of SSA were adhoc, paucity of public health awareness strategies and absence of legislations that would help enforce preventive measures, as well as limited facilities (including personal protective equipment) and institutional capacities to deliver needed interventions. Conclusion COVID-19 is real and has overwhelmed global health care system especially low-income countries of the sub-Sahara such as Nigeria. Suggestions for improvement of healthcare policies and programs to contain the current pandemic and to respond more optimally in case of future pandemics are made herein.

scholarly journals Combining Outcome-Based and Preference-Based Matching: A Constrained Priority Mechanism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Avidit Acharya ◽  
Kirk Bansak ◽  
Jens Hainmueller
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Real World ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Market Design ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Refugee Families ◽  
Strategy Proof

Abstract We introduce a constrained priority mechanism that combines outcome-based matching from machine learning with preference-based allocation schemes common in market design. Using real-world data, we illustrate how our mechanism could be applied to the assignment of refugee families to host country locations, and kindergarteners to schools. Our mechanism allows a planner to first specify a threshold $\bar g$ for the minimum acceptable average outcome score that should be achieved by the assignment. In the refugee matching context, this score corresponds to the probability of employment, whereas in the student assignment context, it corresponds to standardized test scores. The mechanism is a priority mechanism that considers both outcomes and preferences by assigning agents (refugee families and students) based on their preferences, but subject to meeting the planner’s specified threshold. The mechanism is both strategy-proof and constrained efficient in that it always generates a matching that is not Pareto dominated by any other matching that respects the planner’s threshold.

Beyond Posters and Pennants: College-Going Messaging at Three Racially and Economically Diverse Public Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Martinez ◽  
Isaac Torres ◽  
Katherine Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
College Going ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
College Going Culture

Context It has been argued that high schools with a majority of students of color and from low-income backgrounds must be purposeful in fostering a college-going culture in order to address the challenges and inequities historically underserved students face in preparing for and accessing a higher education. However, what this looks and sounds like in practice is not always clear, leaving schools seeking common ground on how to create a college-going environment. Purpose Through a symbolic and ecological model of college readiness framework, the messaging associated with the college-going culture at three racially and economically diverse Texas high schools that had consistently high college ready graduate rates was examined. The research questions that guided the study included: What types of college-going culture messages are conveyed at the schools, and how? How might such messaging impact students, school staff and leaders? Research Design This study drew on data from a three-year, multi-site descriptive case study of three public high schools in different regions of Texas that all served approximately 50% or more of students with financial need and 72% to 97% students of color, specifically Latina/o and Black students. Data Collection and Analysis Data was collected during week-long, yearly visits to the three schools and included: school and district documents; individual and group semi-structured interviews with 194 individuals including administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members; observations of common areas and classrooms; archival data; and researcher-derived documents including field notes, memos, and photographs of the school grounds and school activities. This paper primarily drew on the pictures taken of the schools (in hallways, classrooms, and shared spaces like cafeterias and libraries), field notes, memos, and interview data that specifically spoke to the visual and verbal messaging associated with the college-going culture. Analysis of data revealed six themes: college is a revered goal with many options; varying degrees of integration; support and resources are at your reach; think college and career; finding funding for college is vital; college is an individual and shared success. Conclusions This study's findings suggest the need to: reconsider what a strong college-going culture entails, re-envision college-going cultures as dynamic, multi-layered, and responsive, reframe postsecondary opportunities so they are more expansive and varied, and re-evaluate inequities in college-going messaging and academic rigor.

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