How do colleges use ACT scores?

2010 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meera Komarraju ◽  
Alex Ramsey ◽  
Virginia Rinella

Author(s):  
Fortune O Alabi

Objective: In this study, we: (1) evaluated the correlation between total IgE and the presence of specific IgE; (2) compared the characteristics of patients with positive specific IgE to those with negative specific IgE; and, (3) analyzed the allergic testing results of patients on omalizumab and reported the effect of omalizumab on forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and asthma control test (ACT) results. Methods: Data from patients diagnosed with allergic asthma and seen at Florida Lung, Asthma & Sleep Specialists (FLASS) between January 2016 and June 2019 were analyzed. Parameters evaluated were total IgE, and levels of specific IgE to antigens in the ImmunoCAP test and skin prick test (SPT). Additional parameters for patients on omalizumab therapy for at least 6 months were FEV1, % predicted FEV1 and ACT results. Results: A total of 475 patients (114 males, 361 females) met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 53 years (range: 17 to 89 years). Of these, 36 patients were not included in the analysis due to incomplete data. Mean total IgE was higher in patients with positive ImmunoCAP results compared to those with negative results (396 KU/L vs. 81.3 KU/L). There was a significant positive correlation between total IgE and levels of positive specific IgE in the ImmunoCAP test (p<0.0001, r=0.36, n=213 patients). The correlation between total IgE and levels of positive allergens in SPT was not significant (p=0.15, n=44 patients) Two positive reactions to allergens were seen in 22% of ImmunoCAP tests and 13% of SPT tests. There was no statistically significant improvement in FEV1 (p=0.097, CI -0.17 to 0.02) and % predicted FEV1 (p=0.109, CI -6.63 to 0.70) in patients who used omalizumab for at least 6 months. There was a statistically significant improvement in ACT scores (p=0.031, CI -4.21 to -0.21) in patients who used omalizumab for at least 6 months. Conclusion: Allergic asthma could be seen in patients who had an absence of specific IgE in ImmunoCAP and a negative reaction to SPT. The benefit of omalizumab therapy is not limited to allergic asthma patients with positive specific IgE.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Mynlieff ◽  
Anita L. Manogaran ◽  
Martin St. Maurice ◽  
Thomas J. Eddinger

Writing assignments, including note taking and written recall, should enhance retention of knowledge, whereas analytical writing tasks with metacognitive aspects should enhance higher-order thinking. In this study, we assessed how certain writing-intensive “interventions,” such as written exam corrections and peer-reviewed writing assignments using Calibrated Peer Review and including a metacognitive component, improve student learning. We designed and tested the possible benefits of these approaches using control and experimental variables across and between our three-section introductory biology course. Based on assessment, students who corrected exam questions showed significant improvement on postexam assessment compared with their nonparticipating peers. Differences were also observed between students participating in written and discussion-based exercises. Students with low ACT scores benefited equally from written and discussion-based exam corrections, whereas students with midrange to high ACT scores benefited more from written than discussion-based exam corrections. Students scored higher on topics learned via peer-reviewed writing assignments relative to learning in an active classroom discussion or traditional lecture. However, students with low ACT scores (17–23) did not show the same benefit from peer-reviewed written essays as the other students. These changes offer significant student learning benefits with minimal additional effort by the instructors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Zeyu Xu ◽  
Kennan Cepa

Background As of 2016, 42 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Tens of millions of students across the country completed high school before their schools were able to fully implement the CCSS. As with previous standards-based reforms, the transition to the CCSS-aligned state education standards has been accompanied by curriculum framework revisions, student assessment redesigns, and school accountability and educator evaluation system overhauls. Purpose Even if the new standards may improve student learning once they are fully implemented, the multitude of changes at the early implementation stage of the reform might disrupt student learning in the short run as teachers, schools, and communities acclimate to the new expectations and demands. The goal of this study is not to evaluate the merits and deficiencies of the CCSS per se, but rather to investigate whether college readiness improved among high school students affected by the early stages of the CCSS implementation, and whether students from different backgrounds and types of high schools were affected differently. Research Design We focus on three cohorts of 8theighth-grade students in Kentucky and follow them until the end of the 11th -grade, when they took the state mandatory ACT tests. The three successive cohorts—enrolled in the 8theighth -grade between 2008 and 2010—each experienced different levels of exposure to CCSS transition. Using ACT scores as proxy measures of college readiness, we estimate cohort fixed-effects models to investigate the transitional impact of standards reform on student performance on the ACT. To gauge the extent to which the implementation of CCSS is directly responsible for any estimated cross-cohort differences in student ACT performance, we conduct additional difference-in-differences analyses and a falsification test. Data Our data include the population of 3 three cohorts of 8theighth -graders enrolled in Kentucky public schools between 2008 and 2010. The total analytic sample size is 100,212. The data include student test scores, student background characteristics, and school characteristics. Findings In the case of the CCSS transition in Kentucky, our findings suggest that students continued to improve their college -readiness, as measured by ACT scores, during the early stages of CCSS implementation. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the positive gains students made during this period accrue to students in both high- and low-poverty schools. However, it is not conclusive that the progress made in student college -readiness is necessarily attributable to the new content standards. Conclusions As we seek to improve the education of our children through reforms and innovations, policymakers should be mindful about the potential risks of excessive changes. Transition issues during the early stages of major educational changes sometimes lead to short-term effects that are not necessarily indicative of the longer-term effects of a program or intervention. Nevertheless, standards-based reforms are fairly frequent, and each takes multiple years to be fully implemented, affecting millions of students. Therefore, we encourage researchers and policymakers to pay more attention to the importance of transitional impact of educational reforms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 143 (18) ◽  
pp. e159-e164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konrad Guenter ◽  
Werner Cassel ◽  
Olaf Hildebrandt ◽  
Johannes Kroenig ◽  
Patrick Fischer ◽  
...  

Zusammenfassung Einleitung Wesentlicher Bestandteil der Asthmakontrolle ist die Symptomfreiheit tagsüber und nachts. Die akustische Langzeitregistrierung ermöglicht eine objektive Erfassung respiratorischer Symptome. In dieser prospektiven Beobachtungsstudie mit Pilotcharakter wurde untersucht, wie häufig nächtlich auftretende respiratorische Symptome wie Husten und Giemen bei stabil eingestellten Asthmatikern zu finden sind. Methode Nächtlich auftretender Husten und Wheezing wurden mithilfe des LEOSound-Monitorsystems bei 40 Patienten mit stabilem Status aufgezeichnet. Die Patienten waren zum Zeitpunkt der ärztlichen Vorstellung respiratorisch beschwerdefrei, der Asthmakontrolltest (ACT) ergab einen mittleren Score von 23 Punkten. Der FEV1-Wert betrug 84 ± 15 %; der MEF 50 71 ± 27 % und der Rtot 0,48 ± 0,18. Das Alter der Patienten lag bei 35 ± 11 Jahren. Alle Patienten hatten eine antiobstruktive und/oder antiinflammatorische Therapie. Die Fragestellungen waren wie folgt: 1. Wie häufig werden nächtlicher Husten und Giemen bei Patienten mit stabilem Asthma bronchiale gefunden? 2. Unterscheiden sich Patienten mit/ohne nächtlichem/n Husten/Giemen hinsichtlich ACT und Lungenfunktion? Ergebnisse Bei zwei Patienten konnte nächtliches Wheezing mit einer Gesamtdauer von 19 bzw. 55 Minuten nachgewiesen werden. Patient 1 hatte einen persistierenden Nikotinkonsum bei leichtgradiger Atemwegsobstruktion, Patient 2 war Nichtraucher und wies eine deutliche Bronchialobstruktion (FEV1 49 %; MEF 50 27 % und Rtot 0,52 kPas/l) auf. 26 Patienten hatten keinen Husten bzw. ausschließlich solitäre Hustenereignisse. 14 Patienten wiesen nächtliche Hustensalven mit einer Häufigkeit von 4 ± 3 (2 – 13) auf. Bezüglich der Subgruppenanalyse Husten/Nichthusten ergaben sich sowohl hinsichtlich der ACT-Scores als auch der Lungenfunktionsparameter keine relevanten Unterschiede. Die beiden Patienten mit nächtlichem Wheezing wiesen im ACT vergleichsweise niedrige Punktewerte mit 20 und 21 Punkten auf. Diskussion Nächtliches Wheezing und Hustensalven waren bei 2 bzw. 14 der stabil eingestuften Asthmapatienten nachweisbar. Mithilfe der Langzeitregistrierung der Atem- und Atemnebengeräusche ist eine objektive Erfassung von nächtlichem Husten und Wheezing möglich.


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