In 2007, the Columbia University Middle East Research Center (CUMERC), with the support and patronage of Her

The combined effects of standards-based reforms and accountability demands arising from recent technological and economic changes, say Tom Corcoran and Megan Silander, are requiring high schools to accomplish something they have never been required to do-ensure that substantially all students achieve at a relatively high level. Meeting that challenge, say the authors, will require high schools to improve the effectiveness of their core technology-instruction. The authors first examine how organizational structures affect instruction. Most high schools, they say, organize instruction by subject or discipline, thus encouraging an isolated and independent approach to teaching rather than one in which teachers are guided by a shared vision or goals. Many schools have focused on increasing teacher collaboration, often through teaming, interdisciplinary teaching, or professional learning communities. Citing limited evidence that these reforms improve instruction and learning, Corcoran and Silander urge researchers to examine whether the changes help schools implement specific instructional reforms and support sustained efforts to improve instruction. Next the authors explore the effects on student learning of instructional strategies such as interdisciplinary teaching, cooperative learning, project-based learning, adaptive instruction, inquiry, and dialogic teaching. The evidence suggests the power of well-designed student grouping strategies, of allowing students to express their ideas and questions, and of offering students challenging tasks. But, the authors say, less than half of American high school students report working in groups, and little class time is devoted to student-centered discussions. The authors conclude that schools should promote the use of proven instructional practices. In addition, teachers should systematically monitor how students vary in what they are learning and adapt their instruction in response to students' progress and needs, in the process learning more about what variations in instruction respond most effectively to common variations in students' learning. The authors argue that such "adaptive instruction" has the greatest potential for success in today's standards-based policy environment with its twin values of equity and excellence.

Six 2001 International Class 6 trucks participated in a project to determine the impact of gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuel and catalyzed diesel particle filters (DPFs) on emissions and operations from December 2003 through August 2004. The vehicles operated in Southern California and were nominally identical. Three vehicles operated "as-is" on California Air Resources Board (CARB) specification diesel fuel and no emission control devices. Three vehicles were retrofit with Johnson Matthey CCRT® (Catalyzed Continuously Regenerating Technology) filters and fueled with Shell GTL Fuel. Two rounds of emissions tests were conducted on a chassis dynamometer over the City Suburban Heavy Vehicle Route (CSHVR) and the New York City Bus (NYCB) cycle. The CARB-fueled vehicles served as the baseline, while the GTL-fueled vehicles were tested with and without the CCRT filters. Results from the first round of testing have been reported previously (see 2004-01-2959). The second round results were compared to the CARB specification diesel fuel baseline. Over the CSHVR cycle, the GTL Fuel (no filter) reduced oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrocarbon (HC), and particulate matter (PM) emissions by 13%, 46%, and 21%, respectively, and increased carbon monoxide (CO) by 11%. The GTL Fuel and the CCRT filter virtually eliminated the HC, CO, and PM emissions and reduced NOx emissions by 22%, a statistically significant reduction. Testing over the NYCB cycle also revealed emission reductions are possible with GTL Fuel. Compared to the CARB specification diesel fuel, the GTL Fuel provided statistically significant reductions in NOx, HC, and PM emissions by 11%, 58%, and 16%, respectively. A 10% increase in CO emissions was also noted, although not statistically significant. With the CCRT filter, the HC, CO, and PM emissions were reduced by over 95%. A statistically significant NOx reduction of 20% was observed. Reductions from round 2 were notably larger than those in round 1. To determine if the changes observed between rounds were "real", a statistical analysis was performed. The analysis found that CO emissions were higher without the filter in round 2, while no changes were observed for HC or PM emissions. The NOx emissions were significantly higher in round 1 for the NYCB cycle only. The fleet was followed for operability for 6 months and accumulated ∼20,000 miles. Driver feedback for the vehicles operating on the GTL Fuel and CCRT filters was very positive. An analysis determined that the fuel economy with the combination of GTL Fuel and CCRT filters decreased by 8%. Evaluation of the maintenance records did not reveal any impact of the GTL fuel or CCRT filters on operability.

A fleet of six 2001 International Class 6 trucks operating in southern California was selected for an operability and emissions study using gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuel and catalyzed diesel particle filters (CDPF). Three vehicles were fueled with CARB specification diesel fuel and no emission control devices (current technology), and three vehicles were fueled with GTL fuel and retrofit with Johnson Matthey's CCRT diesel particulate filter. No engine modifications were made.

A variety of technical assistance organizations have been created in the last 20 years to help public schools implement reforms to improve their performance. These organizations vary in size, sponsorship, and focus, but their creation rests on the common premise that the reforms needed in the schools to educate all children to high standards require strong external stimuli and resources and knowledge beyond what are ordinarily available in public school systems (McDonald, McLaughlin, & Corcoran, 2000). Accordingly, these technical assistance organizations forge partnerships with school systems under pressure to improve their performance. Working across the boundaries of the educational system, these organizations serve as catalysts for reform, offering schools and districts expertise and other resources needed to make the desired changes. Dedicated to the implementation of reforms, they are presumed to be free of the ordinary interests and ordinary political pressures and, therefore, more likely to be able to overcome the inertia and resistance that often block reform in public bureaucracies like school systems. Researchers have not paid sufficient attention to these organizations, yet they play an increasingly important role in the improvement of public education. To stimulate more interest in these organizations, and in understanding what makes them effective, we report here on the Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE). For nearly 10 years, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) has evaluated MISE’s partnership with four school districts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, providing MISE staff with feedback on the progress of their work and assessing MISE’s impact on schools, teachers, and students. This long-term relationship has provided an extraordinary opportunity for both CPRE and MISE staff to gain insights into how a technical assistance organization works with school districts to change classroom practice. The story of MISE, and its efforts to bring about instructional reforms in science, is a story of vision, collaboration, learning, and persistence. It is also a success story that offers important lessons for other intermediary organizations working with school districts to improve teaching and learning.

Systemic administration of the excitotoxin kainic acid to adult rats results in a well defined pattern of loss of the CA1 and CA3 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus. Prior to this neuronal loss, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA is substantially increased. We show here that BDNF protein is increased after excitotoxic insult in specific areas of the hippocampus, reaching maximal levels 24 h after the insult. BDNF protein levels in the hippocampus increase in direct relation to the severity of seizure. Up to 7 days after injection of kainic acid, levels of full-length TrkB protein were unchanged, whereas levels of truncated TrkB protein were significantly increased by 12 h. To determine whether elevations in BDNF protein levels are potentially beneficial to hippocampal neurons exposed to an excitotoxic stress, we infused exogenous BDNF prior to and during the period of neuronal death caused by kainic acid. We find that administration of high levels of exogenous BDNF does not affect severity of seizure, but does in fact, exacerbate the injury caused by kainic acid, specifically to CA3 pyramidal neurons. Although there was a trend toward sparing of CA1 pyramidal neurons on the side infused with BDNF, this was not significant. In the same paradigm, infusion of exogenous NT-3 had no effect.

Those who seek to reform our public schools often argue that school performance would improve if only policy and practice were based on evidence. If decision-makers and practitioners paid more attention to research findings, the argument goes, they would make better decisions about improvement strategies and resource allocation, and we would see better results. The belief in this axiom is demonstrated by the increasing frequency with which reformers, educators, and policymakers find it necessary to legitimate their actions with claims that they are "research-based." However, moving beyond rhetoric to actually put this principle into operation turns out to be difficult. This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs looks at findings from the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's study of how central office and school staff in three urban districts made decisions about instructional improvement strategies, and how much weight they gave to evidence. The three districts, in three different states, had enrollments ranging from 50,000 to over 200,000. Leaders in all three districts were addressing the problems common to most urban districts: students' problems associated with living in poverty, low achievement, high mobility, and high dropout rates. Changes in district and school leadership, high teacher turnover, changes in funding, and new state policies compounded the difficulty of improving performance in all three sites. The districts were also working in environments characterized by decentralized decisionmaking, high-stakes accountability, and increasing competition among providers of comprehensive school reform designs and other "research-based" instructional improvement strategies. During our study, we looked at three sets of strategic decisions that each district faced as it tried to improve student performance. The first set of decisions concerned what to do (i.e., which reform design or curriculum to adopt). The next set was deciding how to get it done; how to provide adequate support and coordination; and how to focus people's attention on the desired changes, ensure effective implementation, reduce distractions, and buffer this important work from competing agendas. Finally, there were decisions about scaling up the reforms -the problem of replication. The decision-making process in each case was complicated and the use of evidence to support the ultimate decisions varied considerably. While these categories overlap, they are useful organizers of our findings.