The Black-White Achievement Gap Amongst Struggling Readers: A Case Study of Early Intervention Outcomes in Massachusetts

A number of analyses of large data sets have suggested that the reading achievement gap between African American and White U.S. is negligible or small at school entry, but widens substantially during the school years because African American students show slower rates of growth in elementary and secondary school. Identifying when and why gaps occur, therefore, is a an important research endeavor. In addition, being able to predict which African American children are most likely to fall behind can contribute to efforts to close the achievement gap. This paper analyzes first grade and third grade data on African American and White children in Massachusetts who all were identified in first grade as struggling readers and enrolled in Reading Recovery—an individualized intervention. All the children were low-income and attending urban schools. Using Observation Survey data from first grade, and MCAS Reading data from 3rd grade, we found that the African American and White students made equal average progress while in first grade, but by the end of third grade showed a large gap in MCAS proficiency rates. We discuss the results in terms of school quality, reading development, dialect issues, testing formats, and the need to provide long-term support to vulnerable learners.

The Perceived AIDS Preventative Utility of Knowing One's Partner Well

The public health advice to "either know your partner well, or use condoms" may have led to higher levels of risky sexual behaviour between well-acquainted individuals whose HIV status is unknown. This study assessed the extent to which college students believe that knowing their partner well eliminates the need to practice safer sex, and measured the relationship between such beliefs and the performance of necessary safer sexual practices, such as using condoms during sexual intercourse. Endorsement of beliefs that partner knowledge made safer sex unnecessary was common, and agreement with these beliefs correlated significantly and negatively with levels of AIDS preventive behaviours and behavioural intentions, especially among women. In conclusion, the public health dictum to "know your partner" has been widely internalized, and may be contributing to risky sexual behaviour. Consideration should be given to rejecting explicitly the "know your partner" advice, and to re-educating the public regarding the necessity of consistently practising safer sex with any individual whose HIV status is unknown.

Measuring Potential Output and Output Gap and Macroeconomic Policy: The Case of Kenya

Measuring the level of an economy.s potential output and output gap are essential in identifying a sustainable non-inflationary growth and assessing appropriate macroeconomic policies. The estimation of potential output helps to determine the pace of sustainable growth while output gap estimates provide a key benchmark against which to assess inflationary or disinflationary pressures suggesting when to tighten or ease monetary policies. These measures also help to provide a gauge in the determining the structural fiscal position of the government. This paper attempts to measure Kenya.s potential output and output gap using alternative statistical techniques and structural methods. Estimation of potential output and output gap using these techniques shows varied results. The estimated potential output growth using different methods gave a range of .2.9 to 2.4 percent for 2000 and a range of .0.8 to 4.6 for 2001. Although various methods produce varied results, they however provided a broad consensus on the over-all trend and performance of the Kenyan economy. This study found that firstly, potential output growth is declining over the recent time and secondly, the Kenyan economy is contracting in the recent years.