An ecologic comparison study of the impact of economic disadvantage on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills performance, graduation rates, and readiness for higher education for students attending public and charter schools in Texas from 2004 to 2006

Purpose. No Child Left Behind aimed to "improve the academic achievement of the disadvantaged." The primary research question considered how academic achievement of those from economic disadvantage compared to those not from disadvantage? ^ Economically disadvantaged students can potentially have added academic disadvantage. Research shows low academic achievement can potentially result in drug abuse, youth violence, and teen pregnancy. ^ Methods. To compare the student populations, measures included TAKS results and academic indicator data collected by the Texas Education Agency. ^ Results. T-test analyses showed a significant difference between the economically and non-economically disadvantaged student populations in meeting the TAKS passing standard, graduation, and preparation for higher education.^ Conclusions. The achievement gap between students remained as indicated by the Texas testing program. More research and time are needed to observe if the desired impact on those from economic disadvantage will be reflected by academic achievement data.^

An innovative approach to impacting student academic achievement and attitudes: Pilot study of the HEADS UP Virtual Molecular Biology Lab

Objective. To evaluate the HEADS UP Virtual Molecular Biology Lab, a computer-based simulated laboratory designed to teach advanced high school biology students how to create a mouse model. ^ Design. A randomized clinical control design of forty-four students from two science magnet high schools in Mercedes, Texas was utilized to assess knowledge and skills of molecular laboratory procedures, attitudes towards science and computers as a learning tool, and usability of the program. ^ Measurements. Data was collected using five paper-and-pencil formatted questionnaires and an internal "lab notebook." ^ Results. The Virtual Lab was found to significantly increase student knowledge over time (p<0.005) and with each use (p<0.001) as well as positively increase attitudes towards computers (p<0.001) and skills (p<0.005). No significant differences were seen in science attitude scores.^ Conclusion. These results provide evidence that the HEADS UP Virtual Molecular Biology Lab is a potentially effective educational tool for high school molecular biology education.^

The population health performance of medical students at two medical schools

Public Health and medicine are complimentary disciplines dedicated to the health and well-being of humankind. Worldwide, medical school accreditation bodies require the inclusion of population health in medical education. In 2003, the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) recommended that all medical students receive basic public health training in population-based prevention. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the public health clinical performance of third-year medical students at two independent medical schools, (2) compare the public health clinical practice performance of the schools, and (3) identify underlying predictors of high and low public health clinical performance at one of the medical schools. ^ This study is unique in its analysis and report of observed medical student public health clinical practices. The cohort consisted of 751 third-year medical students who completed a required clinical performance exam using trained standardized patients. Medical student performance scores on 24 consensus public health items derived from nine patient cases were analyzed.^ The analysis showed nearly identical results for both medical schools at the 60%, 65%, and 70% pass rate. Students performed poorly on items associated with prevention, behavioral science, and surveillance. Factors associated with high student performance included being from an underrepresented minority, matching to a primary care residency, and high class ranking. A review of medical school curriculum at both schools revealed a lack of training in four public health domains. Nationally, 32% of medical students reported inadequate training in public health in the year 2006.^ These findings suggest more dedicated teaching time for public health domains is needed at the medical schools represented in this study. Finally, more research is needed to assess attainment of public health knowledge and skills for medical students nationwide if we are to meet the recommendations of the IOM. ^

The association between classroom characteristics and student physical activity in physical education classrooms

Background. With the rapid rise in childhood obesity, physical activity participation among young children has become the subject of much recent attention. Physical education classes have been specifically targeted as a method of providing opportunities for all children to be active. Unfortunately, student participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during these classes still falls far below the current recommendations. While some research to date has reported the levels of activity among elementary-aged children, research is limited on the relationship between these activity levels and the environmental characteristics that exist within the PE classroom. ^ Purpose. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between specific classroom characteristics and contextual characteristics (lesson context, class size, class location, teacher gender, and teacher encouragement for PA) with elementary aged children's moderate-to-vigorous activity during PE class. ^ Methods. A secondary analysis of 211 3rd, 4th and 5th grade physical education classes amongst 39 elementary schools in Harris County, TX and 35 elementary schools in Travis County, TX was conducted using cross-sectional data from the evaluation of a school-based health program. Lesson context and student activity levels were measured using a direct observation measurement tool. Additionally, these variables were further analyzed against a number of classroom characteristics to determine any significant associations. ^ Results. Overall, elementary PE classes are still participating in low levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity averaging only 38% of class time. Additionally, close to 25% of class time is spent in classroom management. Male directed classes spent significantly more time in game activities and female directed classes spent more time in fitness, knowledge, and skill activities. Classes that took place outdoors were more active and spent more time in games than those that took place indoors. Significant correlations were demonstrated between class size and time spent in management context. Time spent in management context was also correlated with time spent sitting and standing. Additionally, positive correlations were demonstrated between time very active and teachers that praised students and encouraged physical activity among their classes.^

The effects of ethnicity and ethnic composition of schools on physical activity and nutrition behaviors of 8th and 11th graders in Texas

With rates of obesity and overweight continuing to increase in the US, the attention of public health researchers has focused on nutrition and physical activity behaviors. However, attempts to explain the disparate rates of obesity and overweight between whites and Hispanics have often proven inadequate. Indeed, the nebulous term ‘ethnicity’ provides little important detail in addressing potential biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that may affect rates of obesity and overweight. In response to this, the present research seeks to test the explanatory powers of ethnicity by situating the nutrition and physical activity behaviors of whites and Hispanic into their broader social contexts. It is hypothesized that a student's gender and grade level, as well as the socioeconomic status and ethnic composition of their school, will have more predictive power for these behaviors than will self-reported ethnicity. ^ Analyses revealed that while ethnicity did not seem to impact nutrition behaviors among the wealthier schools and those with fewer Hispanics, ethnicity was relevant in explaining these behaviors in the poorest tertile of schools and those with the highest number of Hispanics. With respect to physical activity behaviors, the results were mixed. The variables representing regular physical activity, participation in extracurricular physical activities, and performance of strengthening and toning exercises were more likely to be determined by SES and ethnic composition than ethnicity, especially among 8th grade males. However, school sports team and physical education participation continued to vary by ethnicity, even after controlling for SES and ethnic composition of schools. In conclusion then, it is important to understand the intersecting demographic and social variables that define and surround the individual in order to understand nutrition and physical activity behaviors and thus overweight and obesity.^

Comparing Campus Discipline Rates: A Multivariate Approach for Identifying Schools with Significantly Different than Expected Exclusionary Discipline Rates

Campus behavior management is important for ensuring classroom order and promoting positive academic outcomes. Previous studies have shown the importance of individual student and campus personnel characteristics and campus context for explaining campus discipline rates (e.g., rates of suspension and expulsion). Assessing campus discipline rates, while controlling for these individual and campus characteristics, is important for the monitoring, evaluation, and intervention role of policymakers as well as state and federal level education agencies. Systems or metrics exist that measure other student outcomes (i.e., academic performance) with controls for individual and campus characteristics, but none exist that monitor these differences for discipline rates across campuses. In this paper, we use a multivariate model to analyze a longitudinal, statewide dataset for all secondary students in Texas from 2000 to 2008 in order to examine how campus discipline rates differ across schools with statistically similar students, teachers, and campus characteristics. The findings are important for understanding that some schools with similar characteristics have significantly different exclusionary discipline rates, and they are important for informing policy and agency level decision-making. The methodology described can easily be used by monitoring agencies as well as local school districts.

Commentary on "Alternative Strategies for Identifying High-Performing Charter Schools in Texas"

In the last few years policy makers and practitioners nationally have shown much interest in identifying, recognizing, and replicating successful charter schools, many of which are showing that they can educate low-income and otherwise at-risk students remarkably well. However past efforts to identify high performing schools have been problematic. Using these systematic, rigorous value-added methods, the authors identify 44 Open Enrollment charter schools that merit a “high-performer” rating. Nearly all of those campuses identified serve a disadvantaged student population. The article also finds that most of those high performers are highly cost-effective, earning high ratings on the cost-efficiency measures. The authors argue for more widespread use of value-added modeling in the state accountability system. The approach taken to identifying high-performers is sensible and fair, but any formulaic approach to school labels comes with some limitations.

Alternative Strategies for Identifying High-Performing Charter Schools in Texas

The Obama administration's recurring policy emphasis on high-performing charter schools begs the obvious question: how do you identify a high-performing charter school? That is a crucially important policy question because any evaluation strategy that incorrectly identifies charter school performance could have negative effects on the economically and/or academically disadvantaged students who frequently attend charter schools. If low-performing schools are mislabeled and allowed to persist or encouraged to expand, then students may be harmed directly. If high-performing schools are driven from the market by misinformation, then students will lose access to programs and services that can make a difference in their lives. Most of the scholarly analysis to date has focused on comparing the performance of students in charter schools to that of similar students in traditional public schools (TPS). By design, that research measures charter school performance only in relative terms. Charter schools that outperform similarly situated, but low performing, TPSs have positive effects, even if the charter schools are mediocre in an absolute sense. This analysis describes strategies for identifying high-performing charter schools by comparing charter schools with one another. We begin by describing salient characteristics of Texas charter schools. We follow that discussion with a look at how other researchers across the country have compared charter school effectiveness with TPS effectiveness. We then present several metrics that can be used to identify high-performing charter schools. Those metrics are not mutually exclusive—one could easily justify using multiple measures to evaluate school effectiveness—but they are also not equally informative. If the goal is to measure the contributions that schools are making to student knowledge and skills, then a value-added approach like the ones highlighted in this report is clearly superior to a levels-based approach like that taken under the current accountability system.

Student consumption of a la carte foods during school lunch meals

The purpose of this study was to evaluate students' lunch consumption compared to NSLP guidelines, the contribution of competitive foods to calorie intake at lunch, and the differences in nutrient and food group intake between the a la carte food consumers and non- a la carte food consumers.^ In Fall 2011, 1170 elementary and 440 intermediate students were observed anonymously during school lunch. The foods eaten, their source, grade level, and gender were recorded. All a la carte offerings met the Texas School Nutrition Policy.^ Differences in nutrient and food group intake by grade level and between students who consumed a la carte and those who did not were assessed using ANCOVA. A chi-squared analysis was conducted to evaluate differences in a la carte food consumption by grade level, gender, and the school's low income status.^ Average lunch intakes for elementary students were 457 (SD 164) calories for elementary students and 541 calories (SD 188) for intermediate students (p<0.001). 760 students (47%) consumed 937 a la carte foods, with the most often consumed items being chips (32%), ice cream (22%) and snack items (18%). Mean a la carte food intakes were 60 and 98 calories for elementary and intermediate schools respectively (p<0.001). Significantly more (p<0.000) intermediate students (34.3%) consumed a la carte items compared to elementary students (27.5%).^ Students who consumed a la carte foods had significantly higher intakes of calories (p<0.000), fat (p<0.000), sodium (p<0.002), fiber (p<0.000), added sugar (p<0.000), total grains (p<0.000), dessert foods (p<0.000), and snack chips (p<0.000) and lower intakes of vitamin A (p<0.001), iron (p<0.000), fruit (p<0.022), vegetables (p<0.031), milk (p<0.000), and juice (p<0.000) compared to students who did not eat a la carte foods.^ Although previous studies have found that reducing availability of unhealthy items at school decreased student consumption of these items, the results of this study indicate that even the strict guidelines set forth by the state of Texas are not sufficient to prevent increased caloric intake and poor nutrient intake. Strategies to improve student selection and consumption at school lunch when a la carte foods are available are warranted.^