Last week, F. Chris Curran, assistant professor of Public Policy at UMBC, published an article in the journal Educational Policy with co-authors Michael H. Little, Lora Cohen-Vogel, and Thurston Domina of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The article “School Readiness Assessments for Class Placements and Academic Sorting in Kindergarten” examines the relationship between the use of kindergarten readiness assessment data and differential sorting of students by ability across classrooms. 

Curran's findings suggest that using this readiness data for class placements may be predictive of greater sorting by ability across classes, particularly in English/Language Arts.  This study builds on previous research demonstrating that experiences in early education and kindergarten can significantly impact children’s academic trajectories and draws attention to previously understudied implications of readiness assessment use.  The article is available here."

Pamela Bennett, Associate Professor of Public Policy, is co-author of a journal article with Amy Lutz, Associate Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University, and Rebecca Wang, Ph.D. graduate student in Sociology at Syracuse. 

The article “Mismatch and academic performance at America’s selective colleges and universities” discusses the relationship between test score mismatch and academic performance, and whether any relationship particularly impacts racial minorities.

Prof. Bennett and her co-authors found that SAT mismatch is not associated with graduation from a selective institution, but is associated with lower grades. 

The piece was published online this week in Ethical and Racial Studies and will be published in print in November 2018. For a limited time, the journal is offering free access to the online version.

"As we enter the traditional, post-Labor Day sprint in the campaign season, voters may want to consider how much their vote really counts. In the United States, the difference between the popular will and political representation is growing and some votes count more than others.

When voters wield unequal power, that is a problem for democracy."

Is there a deficit of democracy in the USA?

http://theconversation.com/campaign-season-is-moving-into-high-gear-your-vote-may-not-count-as-much-as-you-think-101764

Dr. Salkever has coauthored with current Public Policy students and former students (now alumni); Most recently he has coauthored with Stephen Johnston, Michael Abrams, Kevin Baier, and Brent Gibbons:

Johnston S, Salkever DS, Ialongo NS, Slade EP, and Stuart EA. (2017) Estimating the economic value of information for screening in disseminating and targeting effective school-based preventive interventions: an illustrative example. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research44 (6):932-942.

Stephen Johnston is a doctoral candidate in the School of Public Policy at UMBC and works full time as the director, Real World Data Analytics and Research, Johnson and Johnson.

Salkever D, Abrams M, Baier K, and Gibbons B. (2018).  Impacting entry into evidence-based supported employment: a population-based empirical analysis of a statewide public mental health program. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research,45(2):328-341.

Michael Abrams, Ph.D. ‘15 is conducting research and teaching courses in the Health, Administration and Policy program at UMBC.   Kevin Baier, Ph.D.’17 is a policy analyst at Westat; and Brent Gibbons, Ph.D. ‘13 is the Deputy Director for the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and a teaching courses in the School of Public Health, National University, Singapore

Professor Chris Curran has a new piece out in the Conversation related to the recent school shooting in Texas:

https://theconversation.com/improving-school-climate-not-just-security-is-key-to-violence-prevention-96898

 He also filmed an interview on school resource officers last week for the Newsy’ channel’s morning show, The Day Ahead.  He was told it should air Wednesday morning, though it may be sooner given the emergent attention to school safety this week.