Profile analysis of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children,Second Edition,with African American and Caucasian preschool children

This study used profile analysis to investigate the interpretability of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC‐II), in terms of the Cattell‐Horn‐Carroll (CHC) theory among ethnically diverse preschool children. Forty‐nine African American and 49 Caucasian preschool children from a Midwestern city were included in the study and were matched for age, sex, and level of parental education. The profile analysis examining CHC broad abilities showed that the African American and Caucasian preschool children had similar patterns of highs and lows and performed at the same level with no significant difference between the two groups in their overall mean IQ. Profile analysis of the KABC‐II subtests found that although the African American and Caucasian groups performed overall at a similar level, they did not show the same pattern of highs and lows in subtest performance. Specifically, Caucasian preschoolers scored significantly higher than their African American counterparts on the Expressive Vocabulary subtest. Overall, the two groups displayed remarkably similar performance on the KABC‐II. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effects of nonmaternal care in the first 3 years on children's academic skills and behavioral functioning in childhood and early adolescence: a sibling comparison study

Nonmaternal care of infant children is increasingly common, but there is disagreement as to whether it is harmful for children. Using data from 9,185 children (5 years and older) who participated in the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the current study compared 2 groups: those for whom nonmaternal care was initiated in the first 3 years and those for whom it was not. Between-family comparisons showed that early nonmaternal care was associated with higher achievement and lower behavior problem scores in childhood and adolescence. However, within-family comparisons failed to detect differences between siblings who had different early nonmaternal care experiences. The study concludes that the timing of entry to nonmaternal care in the first 3 years has neither positive nor negative effects on children's outcomes.     

A Conversation with K. C. Johnson

In ubiquitous writings, a Brooklyn College professor has repeatedly drawn attention to the excesses of radical ideologues in higher education. He took his own provost to task for indoctrinating students in a politically myopic policy, inaptly named: “global citizenship.” He was most articulate of those who sought redress for the witch hunt involving Duke lacrosse players. His purview is broad, and he makes the best of enemies. It’s about time that Academic Questions got around to chatting with K. C. Johnson.

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The Bioinformatics Program at Washington University's Bernard Becker Medical Library: making it happen

The need for a Bioinformatics Program became apparent after repeated requests from researchers for bioinformatics resources and the University's announcement of BioMed 21, a 300 million dollars biomedical science initiative to bring "new knowledge of the human genetic blueprint to the patient's bedside and change how illnesses are understood, diagnosed, and successfully treated." A Bioinformatics Specialist with a strong background in the fields of Molecular Biology and Biostatistics was hired. Program development started in 2003. Initially, three core courses were developed: Sequence Similarity Search, Genetic Variation, and Human Genome Resources. Each of these courses was offered twice per semester. Additionally, partnerships were established within the University Medical School Community (e.g., the Genome Sequencing Center) to license and teach Spotfire's DecisionSite for Functional Genomics, a software package used to analyze microarray data. From March to May 2005, seven Spotfire classes were taught. Each Spotfire class consisted of seven hours of classroom work. Also, in-depth consultations were scheduled with faculty and researchers to address their specific needs. These consultations led to requests for other software packages to purchase and manage, including Lasergene and CSD (Cambridge Crystal Structure Database). Efforts to reach outside of the University Community were made through the development of a Bioinformatics Web site.     

Do published search filters to identify diagnostic test accuracy studies perform adequately?

OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of published search filters in finding diagnostic test accuracy studies. METHODS: Diagnostic test accuracy search filters were identified by searching medline, our own files and by requesting unpublished filters from colleagues. We applied the filters to a case study review of diagnostic test accuracy studies for urinary tract infections (UTI) in young children. The included studies with records in medline formed the gold standard. The performance of the filters in finding those gold standard records was assessed. RESULTS: We identified twenty-three diagnostic test accuracy search filters for use with medline. The case study systematic review of UTI included 179 studies of diagnostic test accuracy, of which 160 were available in medline. The filters showed a wide range of sensitivities (range: 20.6% to 86.9%) and precision (range: 1% to 9.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results broadly support those reported in two other studies. The search filters tested do not offer an adequate trade-off between sensitivity and precision to be used to identify studies for systematic reviews. However, there are methods available to explore whether search filters are viable based on an objective statistical analysis of the text and indexing used in records.     

Longitudinal literacy professional development in an urban elementary charter school

The authors describe a school-university professional development partnership in a high-needs urban elementary charter school. University and school partners collaborated to build instructional capacity to develop teachers’ understanding and implementation of effective literacy instruction. Design-based research revealed increased understanding and implementation of effective literacy practices among school leaders and teachers. Findings revealed the importance of administrative stability; coaching support; and a focused, school-wide instructional vision.