Earned Value Management (EVM) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Earned Value Management (EVM) - Term Paper Example The business organisations engaged in competition strives to take an upper hand position in the market by achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. In this regard, they aim to utilize effective management tools and techniques to strengthen their position in terms of finance, market share, operational efficiency etc (Huggins and Izushi, 2011, p.227). To achieve a sustainable growth and development, managements must strive to manage their assigned projects in a systematic way for optimum outcomes. Efficient and effective Project management is a challenging task which includes multiple activities, and management generally uses certain specific techniques, tools and systems for handling a project. Earned Value Management (EVM), an approach for project management is the most popular and widely used technique for project management (Dinsmore and Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p.107). This report will attempt to present importance and use of EVM for analysing and assessing planning, scheduling, costing, budgeting, evaluating and performance monitoring of a project. 2. Management of a Project An organisation including profit making or non-profit making performs a number of tasks. Each group of tasks have a certain specific goal and this group of tasks can be termed as ‘project’. Organisations get themselves engaged in the multiple projects to achieve the common and overall goals and objectives. Therefore, successful completion of project is very vital for the organisational success and project management has evolved as key process in business related activities. With increasing pressure of the workloads, project management is gaining recognition in all types of organisation including SMEs and multinational enterprises. In simple terms, project management can be defined as â€Å"the task of managing work† (Cooke and Tate, 2005, p.1). In case of business management, a project can involves any types of tasks e.g. product development; implementing new machi nes or system in operation for increasing efficiency; or marketing promotions and advertisement. Generally, the project management can be completed through a set five sequential processes. These five processes are initiation, planning, execution, controlling and closure (Choudhuri, n.d. p.3). However, in each process there are various tasks that strive to support each of the aspects and criterions in the course of project management. Cost management, risk and quality management, budgeting, operational management, scheduling etc are the example of these tasks. The above sated tasks can also be termed as project management knowledge that includes nine areas and each of them are crucial of the effective project management. These nine areas also include certain tasks and these areas are explained in the following chart. Figure 1: Project Management Knowledge Areas (Source: Choudhuri, n.d. p.4) 3. Background of Earned Value Management (EVM) In the previous section, the tasks involved in a project management have been discussed, and each of these tasks is critical having direct influence on the profitability and organisational growth. If the project management team is able to complete these tasks efficiently, they are able to meet the goal of a project. In the course of these tasks, maintenance of efficient, accuracy, and reliability are key factors for the success.

Information and Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Information and Knowledge Management - Essay Example It is clear that the Internet has led to a complete change in the process of information gathering, generation, transmission and also understanding. The transformation from the use of the web as a medium to the use of the web as a platform marked the beginning of web 2.0 era. The advent of web 2.0 has had a significant impact on various levels and areas. It is also clear that the current digital age is becoming a complete information based world and companies, as well as individuals, are required to have strong knowledge and information to be able to effectively participate in the current times. In conclusion, the competitive edge of companies, as well as individuals, is more so, on the information and the management of information than it has ever been in the past. Hence it crucial that individuals and companies alike use the current digital age as a strong advantage for information management. Although there can be numerous challenges that can be faced with effective management of information, it is crucial that all information and knowledge is managed with care. Companies with good and well-developed knowledge management systems and accurate information management have proved to be more successful and effective. Hence it is clear that although managing information in the digital age is surrounded by numerous challenges. Along with the intensive increase and improvement in the technology and the technological development, managing information has now become a simpler task for most.

Positive Effects of Physical Activity and Sports on Child Development Research Paper

Positive Effects of Physical Activity and Sports on Child Development - Research Paper Example But how much activity is enough and what is the minimal level of activity that is needed to remain healthy, active and fit? Many guidelines have been proposed during the years, and the most commonly minimal stated amount of time that children should spend outdoors is 30 minutes (Janssen and LeBlanc, 2010, pp1). Guidelines recommend that the levels of physical activity should be increased gradually to almost 90 minutes per day (Janssen and LeBlanc, 2010, pp1). These guidelines and others have been formulated keeping in mind the minimal requirements of physical activity needed for the proper development of children. The level of activity differs from age to age; therefore even in children the time for their optimal physical development may differ. Following these guidelines may prevent some of the problems of sedentary lifestyle that are already emerging in children. In the United States approximately 45% of the boys and 32% of the girls participate in youth activities and sports in 20 01 (Cooper, 2010, pp 8). Although these rates seem healthy, they are not, for the rest of the children may not be taking part in sports at all, or may be doing so at a very minimal level. While one can see the positive benefits of physical activity on the children who do undergo it, there is need to identify what effects do not having any physical activity lead to (Cooper, 2010, pp 1). An important point to remember is that all individuals, regardless of their age and gender, need to undergo daily physical activity and exercise to lead healthy lives and prevent themselves from different ailments. Another consideration is why there is a difference between the levels of activities carried out by boys and girls. There is need to remove the sociocultural perceptions that boys play rough sports while girls stay at home and play with dolls. Physical activity is as important for girls as for boys (Cooper, 2010, pp 4). Studies show that children of both genders may have different motivation to carry out physical activity, and may perceive its results differently (Cooper, 2010, pp 4). However, a sad development in this matter is that physical activity has been substantially reduced or either almost eliminated in many schools across United States. This may aggravate the already worsening situation of sedentary lifestyles among children. The reasons stated for this cut are high costs and more emphasis on academic performances. This may be one of the most convincing reasons why the current generations of children are displaying adult related illnesses at very young ages. Obesity is increasing among children, which is taking a form of an epidemic now. The percentages of schools providing physical education have dropped to 3.8% for elementary schools, 7.9% for middle schools and 2.1% for high schools respectively (Active Education, 2007, pp 2). This means that these children are unlikely to be carrying out any physical activity outside of school premises either, since schoo ls provide the most fertile location to carry out sports. The impact on the children physically and mentally is evidenced through many epidemiological studies. But there is also no significant improvement in the academic scores of children when they are not undertaking physical activity (Active Education, 2007, pp 3). Combined survey results from the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Australia showed that academic performa

The United States government should ban gun control laws Research Paper

The United States government should ban gun control laws - Research Paper Example Watson (2005) argue that the gun politics have become a significant issue whereby many political leaders have come up with ideologies relating to possessing guns through illegal and non-illegal use. They address this issue basing on the safety of the state, but the gun politics deals with the issue of regulations, personal possessing of firearms and restriction of using guns. The issues of gun control have become the foremost debate in the United States. This is  because the proponents argue that owning guns will contribute to widespread danger whereas the opponents argue that it is one of the individual rights for self-security. Gun politics in the US has been a serious and long debate in the American politics. The debate concerning the possession of guns has been for long decades the issue. Some politicians argue that the gun control should be prohibited whereas others argue that gun control should be permissible. Those who support the US citizens from possessing the guns argue t hat it is one of the constitutional act of individual right of self-security. They argue this basing on the second Amendment of constitutional right bill that permits and protects individual rights of owning handguns. This constitution right was ratified in December 1971 together with other Bill of Rights. However, the Supreme Court ruled out the second amendment of permitting an individual to own handguns in a state for self-protection. The arguments in favor for banning the gun control laws are varied. First, the society requires reasonable gun control laws. The local and federal government enacted laws that protect and defends the property of people in the US. Thus, proponents of restrictive gun control laws argue that, by under- regulating, the law will put the state residents at unreasonable risk. This is because the community requires reasonable gun control that would not create any risk to the public. Crooker (2003) asserts that the American people may feel  unsafe in case the government allows everyone in the community to carry a gun. Although the government may ban gun control, they should prohibit ordinary citizens from using the gun in the public places such as schools, hospitals, churches and market places. The government should offer the citizens of US a right for reasonable protection from any causes of danger especially danger of using the gun. Secondly, high rates of firearm related violence and increased deaths such as homicides are behind the  need for banning the gun control. The proponents of gun control argue that the gun control should be made illegal. This is because owing personal firearms will contribute to increased crimes such as homicides and increased deaths in a state. The research report of 2011 indicated that about 47 percent of people in US own personal firearms in their houses (Watson, 2005). Thus, about 20 percent of homicides occur in many parts of the US because many families own private handguns. Therefore, banning gun control is essential because it will reduce cases of homicides, which are common in some states, in the American society. Those supporting the ban of gun control believe that by restricting gun ownership in the US state, government will be able to lessen gun related crimes such as suicide and homicides. This is because the research report indicates that gun related crimes are high in US with the majority of homicides being reported to be high followed by suicide. Watson 2005) argue that gun related

Transformational Learning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Transformational Learning - Research Paper Example In this paper, transformational learning is explored from these perspectives. Transformational Learning The concept of transformational learning has played a significant role in adult education. One of its major contributions is establishment of a basis for distinguishing between childhood and adult education. Unlike other learning perspectives such as SDL, transformational learning focuses on the cognitive process, which results in learning. Core to its constructs are the learner’s experience that is diverse as compared to the experience among young learners and an advanced level of maturity that adult learners have relative to their potentials at younger ages. These distinctions, as Rubenson explains, identify the learning approach as an adult learning theory and, therefore, supports previously developed theoretical concepts by Mezirow. Rubenson further explains that the basis of transformational learning is the change in people that arises from abrupt changes in their envir onment, their experience, and the visibility of such changes among the subjects or among people around them (Reubenson, 2011). Transformational Learning Theory Westby offers a theoretical approach to transformational learning through the Mezirow’s transformational learning theory. ... The change aspects identify experiences such as â€Å"poverty, illiteracy, and oppression† that play a significant role in adults’ cognitive constructs for transformational learning (Westby, 2007, p. 15). Another foundation for transformational learning theory is the rational nature of human beings that drives them to reflect on their experiences and develop assumptions and opinions from the experiences. Westby offers four constructs of transformational learning. These are â€Å"constructivists’ foundation, critical reflection, a shift in the world view, and a change to meaning schemes† (Westby, 2007, p. 15). Constructivism recognizes adults’ perspectives that learning is developed from life experiences and is, therefore, an intrinsic phenomenon as opposed to a development from external sources such as books and educators. Constructivism further undermines the role of educators in transferring knowledge to learners because adult learners develop kno wledge from their experiences. Reflection is another fundamental construct in transformational learning and defines knowledge development through a series of reflection into actions and reflective evaluation of actions for solutions to problems that learners may encounter. This means that transformational learning is not entirely dependent on experience, but also on the learner’s rationale, which evaluates experiences for intellectual developments. A significant change in the worldview is another definitive characteristic of transformational learning and goes beyond knowledge and skills. The change in general perception involves transformation of personal values and approaches to developing meaning from a person’s

Assessment in Special Education Essay Example for Free

Assessment in Special Education Essay Abstract Sometimes the general education program alone is not able to meet the needs of a child with disabilities, and he/she may be able to receive special education services. The evaluation process can be a very difficult task when trying to identify if the child qualifies for special education, schools often have a pre-referral intervention process. The most prominent approached used today is the â€Å"response-to-Intervention† or RTI. Special Education teachers face many challenges when trying to meet the needs of special needs students in their classrooms. Methods of evaluation are a big concern and challenge for educators of special needs students today. In addition, meeting everyone’s needs is a difficult task to accomplish because of students’ diverse abilities in the classroom. This research paper will explore the different methods of assessment in special education programs and the best practices to help this children achieve their potential in an appropriate setting. Testing and assessment is an ongoing process with children in special education programs. Some of these assessments include, developmental assessments, screening tests, individual intelligence tests, individual academic achievement tests, adaptive behavior scales, behavior rating scales, curriculum-based assessments, end-of-grade, end-of-course, and alternate assessments. Comprehensive assessment of individual students requires the use of multiple data sources. These sources may also include standardized tests, informal measures, observations, student self-reports, parent reports, and progress monitoring data from response-to-intervention (RTI) approaches (NJCLD, 2005). The main purpose of a comprehensive assessment in the special education field is to accurately identify the strengths and needs of the students to help them be successful during their school years and there after. Legislation has played a big role in the shift towards functional assessment. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is also known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act has played a big role in this matter. The IDEA legislation â€Å"needed to assure that students with disabilities receive free appropriate public education (FAPE) and the related services and support the need to achieve† (Jeffords 1). IDEA was created to make sure that disabled children are receiving fair and equal education and support. This act has several parts to it which include providing grants, funds early intervention services, and supports research and professional development programs. The No Child Left Behind Act: Impact on the Assessment of Special Education Student. After the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) moved into our schools there is a great deal of controversy that questions whether the act implemented by President George W. Bush is helping or hurting an already suffering school system. There are many dimensions of the NCLB act that have been questioned over the past decade; the fair assessment of students with disabilities is one of them. As the National Center for Fair Open Testing (NCFOT) reported, the public relations aspect of this act is strong. Prior to the Individuals with Disability Education Act of 1997 (IDEA) students in special education were exempt from participating in the statewide testing. However, the IDEA advocated that all students including those with special learning difficulties should be able to participate in testing. (Cahalan, 2003). Legislative Overview of Laws Protecting Special Education Students On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the NCLB act. In this act the federal government was for the first time in the history of the Department of Education putting an act into effect that would penalize schools that failed to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP). The AYP is a measuring system in which the federal government will look at the progress of the local government and school systems to decide whether or not that school, along with its teachers and students, has progressed and provided a high-quality education (Goldhaber, 2002). Through the NCLB act schools are held accountable for failing test scores and failure to improve their class average from one year to the next. The longer the school fails to meet required scores, the more the school will be held accountable, and the greater the consequence. For instance, a school that is unable to make their desired AYP and has not improved a significant amount within five years will then be subject to reconstruction. This reconstruction could include the government completely taking over the school and hiring new teachers and  teacher staff, leaving many teachers and staff unemployed (Goldhaber, 2002). Teachers and students in the special education department do have some laws however that helps them make testing less stressful. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 required that accommodations must be made for students with learning disabilities in order to be able to participate in the assessment (Cahalan, 2003). However, this leaves the question of what can be used as accommodations. Accommodations could include things such as test schedules and setting of the test, along with the format of the presentation. Also used to help the special education students and teachers is the individualized education plan (IEP). The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) of 1991 would set into effect the idea of an IEP. An IEP is a plan that is set by a group of individuals that work closely with the student to design the educational format that is most appropriate for him/her (Cahalan, 2003). This does not take into account the type of disorder the student has but simply the student themselves. The individualized attention that is given with this plan provides the student with the correct instruction needed to be successful in education. These groups of individuals include the teacher, parent, school psychologist and anyone else that is closely related to the education of this student. The IEP members are, in most states, responsible in deciding which accommodations are important for each individual student (Cahalan, 2003). They, however, are not a part of deciding what accommodations will be provided for each student during the NCLB assessment. The laws described here were all implemented with the same goal in mind; to protect special education students and be sure their quality of education is the same as all other students. However some of these laws, including the NCLB, must be altered in order to truly give special needs students the education and assessment they deserve. Best Practices in Assessment of Special Education Students Students in special education programs should be included in the statewide assessments, as the IDEA of 1997 states. The IDEA also states that accommodations should be made to be sure that the student is able to fully understand the materials they are asked (Cahalan, 2003). There are four categories of test accommodations, presentation, response, timing, and  setting (Cahalan, 2003). Presentation is simply visual aids that help the student fully understand the context. These do not alter the questions of the test; they simply make it accessible for the students. Presentation accommodations include Braille, large-print, sign language interpreter, or reducing the number of questions per page (Cahalan, 2003). These simple accommodations make test taking less stressful, and therefore the material is better understandable by the student. However, no state has reported using them in their statewide assessments since the inception of the NCLB. In a study of over one thousand students it was found that using a video presentation to help understand the test showed a significant increase in their achievement (Cahalan, 2003). So why is the educational department not using these modifications that help so much? Another form of accommodation used in special education testing is response. It may be as simple as giving an oral response instead of a written one or it may mean that the test is dictated to the student by a recorder. These accommodations in no way alters the response that is given or received, it is still the same question being asked. Results have shown that by providing a reader special education students showed a significant improvement in their test score (Cahalan, 2003). The last two accommodations are setting and timing. The timing could include any extra time needed, breaks during the exam, or spreading the testing out through a few days instead of taking it all in one day. And the final accommodation is setting, which could include special furniture, lighting, or an individualized testing area (Cahalan, 2003). Even though there was no evidence to prove that setting and timing are important accommodations, it is well known that many special education students are tested in private rooms with more time. These accommodations should be accessible for special education students that need them to better their test taking skills. However, many states do not allow such accommodations to be made due to the misconceived conception that they change the contents of the test when in actuality they do not in any way alter the questions asked. BEST PRACTICES IN ASSESSMENT HANDOUT †¢Create a shared mission and goals statement that reflects an emphasis on student learning. †¢Focus on collaboration and teamwork. Faculty members must agree on assessment goals for planning to be meaningful. They may have to rise to a higher level of collaboration than may have been traditionally practiced in most departments. Collaboration within the department, across departments, and with higher administration will facilitate the best outcomes from assessment planning. All constituents must recognize that assessment skills must be developed and that colleagues can assist each other by sharing practices and strategies. †¢Clarify the purpose of assessment. Assessment can serve dual purposes: Assessment can promote student learning or provide evidence for accountability requirements through an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses. Wherever possible, students should experience a direct, positive benefit from their participation in assessment activities. †¢Identify clear, measurable, and developmental student learning †¢OUTCOMES. Explicit identification of learning expectations facilitates the departments coherence about their GOALS. Sharing those expectations explicitly with students can provide an effective learning scaffold on which students can build their experiences and render effective performance. †¢Use multiple MEASURES and sources consistent with resources. Effective assessment planning can only occur when properly supported with appropriate time, money, and recognition for good work. The expansiveness of the assessment plan will depend on those resources. As resources permit, additional MEASURES can be added to planning. These MEASURES address variations in learning style, differences in types of learning, and interests from varied stakeholders. †¢Implement continuous assessment with clear, manageable timelines. Better assessment practice involves spreading out assessment activity throughout the year and across years rather than conducting a marathon short-term assessment effort in a single year. Projecting a schedule of regular formal reviews can facilitate appropriate interim activity. †¢Help students succeed on assessment tasks. Students will fare best in assessment activities when faculty make expectations explicit, provide detailed instructions, and offer samples or models of successful performance. They will benefit most with opportunities to practice prior to assessment and when given detailed feedback about the quality of their performance. †¢Interpret and use assessment results appropriately. Assessment should be a stimulus for growth, renewal, and improvement, not an action that generates data to ensure positive outcomes. Linking funding to assessment outcomes may encourage artificial results. Assessment data should not be used for personnel decisions. If cross-institution comparisons are inevitable, care should be taken to ensure comparisons across comparable institutions (benchmarking). †¢Evaluate your assessment practices. Results from assessment activity should be evaluated to address their reliability, validity, and utility. Poor student performance can reflect limited learning or an ill-designed assessment process. Examining how effectively the assessment strategy meets departmental needs is a critical step in the evolution of the department plan. (Retrieved from www. caspercollege. edu/assessment/downloads/best_practices. pdf) The Effect of NCLB Assessments on Special Education Programs When the Department of Education was asked how they intend to insure that special education students will not be forced to take tests that are above their intelligence level under the NCLB act, they could not give a real solution. They simply said that there are accommodations available, and if the student’s disability is severe to the point that the accommodations will not help, there are alternate tests they can take (Education Week, 2003). However, the problem with this is that there is no clear definition as to who is able to receive these accommodations and who is able to receive the alternate assessment. Who decides this? And how handicapped must a student be in order to receive an alternate assessment? Even though special education students are not at the same intelligence level as their peers they are still placed in the same test group as them. The NCLB act does not include in its AYP percentage the failing percentage rate of special education students in each given population. Therefore, teachers and school administration are trying to make up for the percentage loss in special education departments. Some teachers are now, for the first time, being held accountable for failing test scores. This, in effect, causes teachers to alter their curriculum and teach to the test? (Goldhaber, 2002). By teaching to the test students are missing out on important curriculum information that may be overlooked completely or presented in short educational lecture in the middle of teaching test taking skills and other information that may be found on the assessments. Possible Improvement to the Assessment and Accountability. To improve the NCLB act we must first know what is wrong with the act. While the idea of leaving no child behind in education is a good plan, there are still a few loop holes that the president’s act needs to clear up. The students that are placed in the special education setting are usually there because they have a disability or are below average in their cognitive abilities. In order to be fair to these students the government must be sure that they have the same quality education as all other students, but the government must also realize that the curriculum of the material they are learning may in some cases be drastically different. With this knowledge, it must then be known that to accurately and fairly assess special education students the assessments must be built with the correct accommodations. In order for this to happen, those who design the tests must develop an exam that meets the needs of the student, and not the needs of the disorder. In other words, do not test a student as an autistic child but first look at their individual advantages and disadvantages according to each test taking skill. Some students may simply need more time, while others will need more time along with a person to read to them and interpret some larger word usage. It is all based on the student’s individual needs (Cahalan, 2003). In other words the decisions of the accommodations should be made by people that know the student on a personal level, and know what accommodations are present in their current education setting. As stated before, with some assessments the IEP will meet to determine what accommodations will be made for the students in that assessment, However, this is not the case in the NCLB assessments; but it should be. Those who are teaching and raising the child should be a part of the process of determining how the child is assessed and what accommodations are necessary (Washington, 2003). It is important for the education of future special education students that the Department of Education take into consideration the possible reforms that were suggested by many local government and teachers surrounding them. Improvements can be made to the assessment of special education, and should be made to be sure that all students are receiving a fair and adequate education. Disproportionate identification of minorities in some special education categories: When speaking of the learning disabled, minorities, one must consider some dimensions to the issue of assessment within a particularly specialized light. This special population reflects both the learning disabled (LD) and the minority that they belong to. This is largely the case within a practical context, although as the literature points out, pre-considerations must be afforded for minority students. To begin with, it is important to look at the many variables that exist within the aforementioned components. These components include English as a Second Language (ESL), socioeconomic level and finally the impact this has on teaching the learning disabled in a classroom setting and more specifically when employing the assistance of a translator. Curriculum-based assessment is hampered with some biases that can affect these students (Dolson, 1984). A childs race and ethnicity significantly influence the childs probability of being misidentified, misclassified, and inappropriately placed in special education programs. Research shows the relationship between race and ethnicity and other variables for students placement in special education classes. Variables such as language, poverty, assessment practices, systemic issues, and professional development opportunities for teachers have been cited as factors that play a role in disproportionate representation (emstac. org). Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds should be able to receive an excellent and appropriate education. Some students are not included in special education programs, even though they have a disability that is affecting their ability to learn and they need special education help. Some CLD populations are also significantly under-represented in programs for the gifted and/or talented. In these instances, CLD groups are considered under-represented because the proportion of students from certain ethnic or racial groups who receive special services are significantly less than the number of these same students in the overall school population (U. S. Department of Education, 2004). Facts: †¢ Hispanics are under-identified within certain disability categories compared to their White peers (U. S. Department of Education, 2006). †¢ Asian/Pacific Islander students are actually less likely to be identified for special education services than other CLD populations (NABE, 2002). There are a number of possible action steps school personnel can take to ensure that individual assessments are conducted in a culturally responsive and nondiscriminatory manner (Klotz Canter 2006). Recommendations include: †¢Allowing more time. Assessments of students from diverse backgrounds require more time to gather important background information and allow for alternative and flexible procedures. †¢Gathering extensive background information. To provide a context for the evaluation, conduct a review of all available background information including: school attendance, family structure, household changes and moves, and medical, developmental, and educational histories. †¢Utilizing student progress monitoring data from Response-to-Intervention (RtI) or problem-solving processes. Data generated from a process that determines if the child responds to scientific evidence-based interventions should be included in a comprehensive evaluation. The National Research Council on Minority Representation in Special Education recommended the use of data from a systematic problem-solving process measuring the student’s response to high quality interventions (National Research Council, 2002, pp. 7-8). †¢Addressing the role of language. Determining the need for and conducting dual language assessments are essential steps in an evaluation process. This includes determining the student’s language history (i. e. , ages that the student spoke and heard various languages), dominance (i. e. , greatest language proficiency), and preference (i. e. , the language the student prefers to speak). †¢ Using nonverbal and alternative assessment strategies. When assessing students from CLD backgrounds, use standardized nonverbal cognitive and translated tests (when available in the target language). Additional assessment techniques, including curriculum-based assessments, test-teach-test strategies and in-direct sources of data, such as teacher and parent reports, portfolios, work samples, teacher/student checklists, informal interviews and observations, and classroom test scores are also helpful in completing an accurate, comprehensive evaluation (NEA, 2007). Bibliography Bush, President George W. (December 3, 2004). Bipartisan Special Education Reform Bill. Retrieved from http://www. ed. gov/news/newsletters/extracredit/ 2004/12/1203. html Cahalan, C. Morgan, D. L. (2003). Review of state policy for high stakes testing of students with disabilities on high school exit exams. Educational Testing Service. Department of Education. (2003). Title I ? Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; Proposed Rule. (34 CFR Part 200). Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. Dolson, David P. (1985). The Effect of Spanish Home Language Use on the Scholastic Performance of Hispanic Pupils. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, V. 6, No. 2,50. Fair Test. (2005). The National Center for Fair Open Testing. Retrieved from http://www. fairtest. org on October 12, 2011 Goldhaber, D. (2002). What might go wrong with the accountability measures of the? No Child Left Behind Act? The Urban Institute. IDEA Partnership. http://www. ideapartnership. org Klot z, M. B. Canter, A. (2006). Culturally Competent Assessment and Consultation. Retrieved October 2011 from: http://www.naspcenter. org/principals/Culturally%20Competent%20Assessment%20and%20Consultation%20NASSP. pdf. Improving accountability for limited English proficient and special education students under the No Child Left Behind Act. (2003). Washington Area School Study Council. National Association of School Psychology. (2007). The Truth in Labeling: Disproportionality Special Education. Retrieved from www. nea. org/books on October 15, 2011. National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2001a). Issues in learning disabilities: Assessment and diagnosis. In Collective perspectives on issues affecting learning disabilities (2nd ed. , pp. 55–61). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. (Original work published 1987) National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2005). Responsiveness to intervention and learning disabilities. Available from www. ldonline. org/njcld. National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2007). The documentation disconnect for students with learning disabilities: Improving access to postsecondary disability services. Available from www. ldonline. org/njcld National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems. (Fall 2005). Cultural considerations and challenges in response-to-intervention models. An NCCRESt position statement. Retrieved October 2011 From http://www. nccrest. org/PDFs/rti. pdf? v_document_name=Culturally%20Responsive%20RTI. No educator left behind: Testing special education students. (2003). Retrieved October 15, 2011, from http://www. education-world. com/a_issues/NELB/NELB025. shtml Olson, L. (2004). Data show schools making progress on federal goals. Education Week, 24, 24-28. Retrieved from http://www. edweek. org Tomes, H. Ph. D. (2004). In public interest: Are we really leaving no child behind? American Psychologist, 35, 31-35. Retrieved from www. apa. org on October 15, 2011 U. S. Department of Education. (2004). Twenty-fourth annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.

Junk food Essay Example for Free

Junk food Essay Whether adult or child, junk food is bad for everyone. Teenagers and young children easily tend to develop the habit of gorging over junk food, which may well escort bad health consequences for them. It massively ruins their health and therefore, it is very important for parents and adults to keep a tight check on the diet and eating habits of their young guns. It is the only way of ensuring they eat a balanced diet which is nutritious and healthy enough to offer them sufficient amount of energy. Junk food not only makes you addict to a non-healthy diet pattern but also brings a plethora of diseases for you. Effects of junk food on health Obesity: When people eat more and more junk food, they become prone to overweight. The oils used for frying junk food make you fat and fatter. In the same fashion, fats and processed flour used in junk food tends to make you bulky. Besides, junk food forces you to toss down sodas and colas. These drinks are full of sugar and thus, they increase your tendency to put on weight. see more:short essay on junk food Lethargy: When you eat processed food, your energy levels lower down and you feel more lethargic. Reason behind this process is that junk food contains high amount of carbohydrates that prickle your blood sugar levels. As soon as your sugar levels start fluctuating dramatically, you start feeling drowsy and tired. Soon you feel less active and alert, and your brain and body starts seeking sleep. In a nutshell, with dulling reflexes and senses, you are forced to an extensively inactive life. Diseases: Other than obesity issues, junk food is also related to some of the most lethal diseases. It can result in diabetes and heart ailments. If you don’t exercise regularly and have a family history of diabetes, then junk food is likely to activate the peril of various crucial diseases at an early stage. Secondly, junk food releases some kind of fats that have a tendency of increasing your cholesterol levels. This way, your arteries get clogged up which might lead to heart attack. So, being overweight is a simple welcome note for various diseases. Poor nutrition: Junk food snatches the nutrition proffered by your diet. When