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Public Policy
Results are mixed for impact of No Child Left Behind Act
The first known rigorous national impact evaluation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act finds that the legislation has had mixed effects on student achievement. The research indicates that the NCLB reforms generated statistically significant increases in the average math performance of 4th graders as well as improvements at the lower and top achievement percentiles. There was also evidence of improvements in 8th grade math achievement, particularly among traditionally low-achieving groups and at the lower percentiles. However, the authors find no evidence that NCLB increased reading achievement in either 4th or 8th grade. "The prior evidence on the achievement effects is quite limited. Earlier studies have either focused on single districts or states, relied on state developed assessments that are subject to 'score inflation,' or used weak research designs that confound the impact of NCLB with other social, educational and economic factors," said Brian Jacob, a professor at the U-M Ford School of Public Policy. "We believe this new research sheds much-needed light on the results of what was arguably the most far-reaching education policy initiative of the last 40 years." [Read more...]
Public may find it hard to follow measures to limit infection in pandemics
The H1N1 flu virus is spreading misery around the country, but University of Michigan researchers say that implementing and sustaining infection-limiting measures will still be a challenge. In focus groups with residents from four Michigan communities, U-M researchers found that people’s mistrust in government and concerns about job security or financial burdens would make social distancing efforts hard to maintain in any pandemic. The study’s results were expected to be published this week in the American Journal of Bioethics.
“Leaders in public health need to consider the many challenges articulated by our community members about the closure of businesses, schools and other gathering places during a pandemic,” says co-author Susan D. Goold, director of U-M’s Bioethics Program and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine. [Read more...]
U-M has received more than $200M in stimulus funds through October 2009
In data assembled by the U-M's Division of Research Development and Administration, the U-M has received funding for 342 projects through October, 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The total dollar value of these projects is $206.4M. To date, the five largest grants support solar energy research, diabetes research, an ongoing study of health and retirement issues in the U.S., the creation of a database to support genetic research in the behavioral and health sciences, and a study of pulmonary fibrosis. [Download table of project awards by U-M schools, colleges and other major units...]
Professor co-authors new book on conservation, food sovereignty
Ivette Perfecto, a professor at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment, has co-written a new book that offers a radical departure from traditional theories related to biodiversity and food sovereignty in tropical regions of the world. In Nature's Matrix: Linking Agriculture, Conservation and Food Sovereignty (Earthscan, Ltd, 2009), Professor Perfecto and her co-authors say that such goals cannot be achieved without embracing rural social movements and local peasant farmers. This new approach to the conservation of biodiversity is based on advances in ecology science and modern political realities found in rural areas, particularly tropical regions. [Read more...]
Muddy Waters
In the Fall 2009 issue of LSA Magazine, three experts from the College of Literature, Science & the Arts weigh in on the greatest threats facing the Great Lakes, and what can be done about the damage humans have inflicted (and continue to inflict) on the world's largest freshwater resource. [Read more...]
Stem cell research comments on proposed state restrictions
Statement from Sean J. Morrison, regarding today's Senate Health Policy Committee hearing on bills to restrict stem cell research in Michigan: "Last November, Michigan voters voiced their support for embryonic stem cell science by approving Proposal 2, a state constitutional amendment that lifted onerous restrictions on research that holds great promise to improve the treatment of deadly diseases. The package of bills submitted by Sen. Tom George and his colleagues attempts to block most of the research contemplated by Proposal 2, in direct violation of the will of Michigan voters." [Read more...]
A Very Loud Number
In this blog post, U-M Vice President for Research discusses the broader meaning of the $1B milestone in research spending: "By now, many have heard that the University of Michigan broke the $1,000,000,000 threshold for research expenditures in Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09). Indeed, by National Science Foundation accounting, U-M has moved into third place for research expenditures by U.S. universities in 2008 (the latest year for which such numbers are available). Only the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Wisconsin rank higher." [Read more...]
U-M researcher discusses how the state of Michigan can rebound from poverty
As poverty’s grip continues across the nation, a high unemployment rate in Michigan has weakened the state’s economy and financially devastated many families. In this podcast, Institute of Social Research expert Reynolds Farley, Research Professor Emeritus at the Population Studies Center and Professor Emeritus of Sociology, talks about the state's poverty rate and how Michigan can rebound in this podcast. [Listen to podcast...]
U-M researcher part of effort to reform federal rules to improve accuracy of nursing home payments
Federal Medicare payments to the nation’s nursing homes will more accurately match the different levels of care that elderly patients require, under rule changes that have just been announced for implementation in 2010. “We know that the characteristics of nursing home residents have changed in the last decade, for example with more individuals who have severe mental illness and serious disabilities. But we were surprised that the old system, with only a bit of modification, is still very effective in predicting the cost of care,” says Brant Fries, research professor in the U-M Institute of Gerontology and professor of health management and policy at the U-M School of Public Health. [Read more...]