Most of the Nation does not like STAAR - 889 Words

Most of the Nation does not like STAAR, or standardized tests. The reason is because most of all the students on the day of the test are completely stressed out, and worried about not succeeding. The STAAR is really a waste of time to me, but let’s NOT listen to me. Let me tell you some interesting facts I found. STAAR more than triples exit-level test load for high school students. â€Å"TAKS only required 4 final tests for high school graduation. By the STAAR, a student must pass 15 final tests, making it triple the high-stakes testing load for Texas.† Not passing on one STAAR test can keep kids from graduating. Students must pass all EOC tests to graduate from high school, which can mean up to 15 standardized assessments each. English†¦show more content†¦Therefore a passing STAAR score may be interpreted as a C in one district or an A in another. Because the scores ultimately affect a student’s GPA and class rank, an uneven application of scores ult imately results in an uneven playing field for students.http://files.eric.ed.gov/full text/ED502858.pdf High-stakes grading depends on unknown factors. Under the new tests, students must attain a certain cumulative score on all EOC assessments to graduate, but the state has not yet revealed what this required score will be. Students must also achieve a certain level of performance on EOC assessments for algebra two and english three for enrollment into four year colleges, but once again the state has not yet decided what this number will be. Teachers have determined that EOC tests are written in language three levels way harder than TAKS tests for the same grade level. This means students may know the subject matter, but may not understand what is being asked because test questions are phrased in language beyond their grade level. Timed tests add pressure. Unlike TAKS tests, STAAR EOC assessments are timed tests with a 4-hour limit, increasing stress levels for students. New learni ng materials,and teachers are available ONLY online, but not all schools have access to computer learning. STAAR removes local control from school districts. Never before here in Texas has aShow MoreRelatedThe Education Standards Of Schools Essay1270 Words   |  6 Pageshave to regain their passion and desire to learn and exceed the expectations put upon them. When we receive our awful results on our test, it is easy to blame our teachers. The truth is more times than not our teachers are hard working individuals (like beth mcdaniel) that just can’t seem to make the students care about their academic performance. It has gotten to the point where high school students now have an option of graduating on different plans. Now students can choose between a recommendedRead MoreAssessments Hold Schools, States and Nations Accountable Essay1439 Words   |  6 PagesJohnson (2002) and Steward (2004), they believe that assessments are useful in holding schools, states and nations, accountable throughout the educational process for student learning (as cited in Richardson, Morgan, Fleene r, 2009). As many of us educators in this district know, this accountability could be seen in our state’s profienciency exam, State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ®), formerly the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), coupled with the No Child Left BehindRead MoreEducation Revolution: Why the No Child Left Behind Act Didnt Work1695 Words   |  7 Pagesgovernment to â€Å"Teach the test.† Back in 2001, before the No Child Left Behind Act was proposed, the United State’s rank in educational performance was 16th. After the act was put into action, that rank moved up to where we now stand at 17th in the nation. Statistics also showed that because of America’s dropping education level, many teachers began to get discouraged in their professions. Although, America has not ever been able to hold the title of being 1st in education, the education system, asRead MoreAffordable Care Act - Medicare s Readmission Reduction Program3472 Words   |  14 Pages Affordable Care Act – Medicare’s Readmission Reduction program Target Group: Valley Hospital Healthcare Policy Analysis Paper Washington State University Sheetal Wadhwaâ€Æ' Executive Summary: Healthcare in the U.S is most expensive than any other developed country. The U.S spends far more on per capita as compared to any other developed. U.S scores low on many outcome measures, inefficiencies and wastes and quality measures as compared to other countries. The Patient Protection and AffordableRead MoreA Book Report of: Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Classrooms2975 Words   |  12 Pagestheories and concepts that he posits throughout the book. Quickly in the introduction Howard (2010) attacks the primary causal explanations of why an achievement gap even exits in a section called â€Å"Socioeconomic Status and School Performance† (p. 2). Most persons believe that the achievement gap is a result of socioeconomic status and not related to race or culture. However, Howard (2010) is quick to point out early in his book that even minority students with an affluent socioeconomic status perform

Celestial Seasoning Free Essays

Celestial Seasonings was found by small countryside family aiming to bring natural herb benefits to the customers in 1969. Celestial’s herbal tea was sold through local stores initially. Celestial Seasonings went through major change when it was bought by Kraft Inc in 1984. We will write a custom essay sample on Celestial Seasoning or any similar topic only for you Order Now Kraft brought Celestial products to new markets before selling it back to the Celestial’s old management in 1988. The selling and re-purchase of Celestial benefit the company to get into national market and exposure to wider consumer range.Throughout the decade of 90’s, company extended its product line as per market demands. As result herbal supplements, medicinal teas, herbal supplement capsules and many other products were added to celestial product range. Company had good growth till end of decade until some of its product start showing the declining trend. There are some problems relating to celestial Seasonings progress which include ethical issues, quality concerns and limited target market.Celestial Seasonings makes its entire product range from natural herbs but still company cannot promise to make people healthy. It’s a product not medicine so it cannot claim for treatment of illness and claiming so raises ethical issue. Quality concern is another problem with the celestial Seasonings products. 71% people consider Celestial Seasonings products safe for health while 29% people have some concerns about safety. They think that being natural doesn’t make it safe. Herb source authenticity also raises questions about quality.Celestial Seasonings offer a wide range of product but major target market is baby boomer ladies with 35 to 54 years of age. Its tea products have high price than other tea competitors. This raises the problem of limited target market. As a solution of ethical problem, company must not make unjustified promises. Product statements can show that these can help living healthier life rather than its impression of a curing product. Quality can be assured by club marketing programs and virtual tours. Sustainable sourcing assurance can also help improving customers’ confidence.Club marketing programs can be launched and events can be held on farm and production locations to improve customer perception for product quality. Market development is solution to limited target market issue. New target markets can be explored. Company can go global and enter the markets where tea is a part of tradition like England, India, and Pakistan. Celestial Seasonings has kept its promise to bring natural herb benefits to the customers. Company can overcome current problems and increase its profits with market development, club marketing programs and keeping the ethical concerns. How to cite Celestial Seasoning, Papers

Cancer The Disease

Question: Describe the diagnosis and staging of cancer. Describe at least three complications of cancer, the side effects of treatment, and methods to lessen physical and psychological effects. Answer: Today, millions of people across the world seek to have a more comprehensive, holistic and integrative approach to medicine and health care that is ever more sensitive to their needs as an individual. This particularly holds true for cancer patients. With the transforming patient demographics and increased consumer demands, there is a heightened need as well as the application of complementary and alternative medicine products and treatments for curing cancer which has fueled the emerging fields of oncology and integrative medicine to provide a better approach to cancer care. The present paper discusses the basics of cancer and diagnosis, staging and approach to care of cancer. Cancer: The Disease Cancer is a category of disease that typically includes cell growth that is out of control in nature. There are more than 100 types of cancer diagnosed till now and each of them is classified by the initially affected cell type (Tang, 2012). Cancer damages the body by uncontrollably dividing the cells to form masses or lumps of tissues known as tumors, except in case of leukemia or blood cancer where there is a prohibition of normal blood functioning as cells abnormally divide and grow in the blood stream due to cancer (Tang, 2012). Tumors grow at a varied speed and interfere with the normal physiological functions such as digestion, circulation, nervous system associated functions. Even the tumors release harmful chemicals that change the normal body functions (Rakoff-Nahoum, 2006). When the tumors are spotted in a single place and demonstrate limited growth then they are known as benign tumors whereas in those cases where the cancerous cells move throughout the body with the help o f blood or lymphatic systems, damaging healthy cells, then the condition is known as malignant tumor. A malignant cancerous cell is capable of dividing and growing, making new blood vessels for feeding and this process is known as angiogenesis (Grunfeld, 2006). The normal body cells are destined to follow an orderly path of grow, divide and die in which apoptosis process helps in programmed cell death once its life is finished. But this process is suppressed in case of cancer where the abnormal cancerous cells only divide and grow and do not die. Cancer can be caused if an individual is in continuous exposure to any carcinogen such as tobacco, asbestos, x-rays and gamma radiations, arsenic, the sun and compounds found in car exhaust fumes. A damaged or mutated DNA in an individual can inhibit the functions of oncogene and tumor suppressor gene that leads to uncontrolled cell growth. Cancers are classified into five broad groups: Carcinoma, Sarcoma, Lymphoma Leukemia and Adenoma (Hol leb et al., 1991). Diagnosis and Staging of Cancer The presence of cancer can primarily be diagnosed by looking the affected tissue under microscope. As soon as the screening test indicates any possibility of cancer, biopsy is performed. Biopsy is a surgical removal of the small piece of the infected tissue for examining it microscopically (Holleb, fink and Murphy, 1991). This will tell the doctor whether any tumor is actually present and if present, then whether it is malignant or just benign. Tissue can be removed using one of any three of methods that are needle biopsy, endoscopy or surgical biopsy. Surgical biopsy includes excisional biopsy or incisional biopsy which respectively involves removing of the entire tumor or removal of just a piece of tissue from the affected area and then removing the tumor immediately or in another operation, if the tumor is present (Bozzeti, 2010). Once the tumor has been removed fully or partially, the next step is to determine the aggressiveness of the cancer or how fast it is growing to other parts of the body. The abnormal tissue is observed under the microscope and the cells are looked for their well differentiated nature or poorly differentiated nature from the normal cells of the tissue. If the tumor cells looked identical to normal cells, then they are well differentiated and if they do not resemble to normal cells of the same tissue, then the condition is undifferentiated cells. The poorly differentiated cells or undifferentiated cells are more aggressive in nature and they grow and spread faster. Once the diagnosis is made, the doctor starts the process to find out the extent of the cancer. This process is known as staging (Shaffer, 2008). Staging determines how far the cancer has spread in the body. Any decision regarding treatment of cancer is dependent upon staging only. The four common cancer stages are (becker, 1981): In situ/Stage 1: The stage is quite early and cancer has not spread in the adjoining tissues. This stage carries a good prognosis for complete treatment. Local/Stage 2: Cancer can be found only in that organ where it has started. Such a cancer has good chances of cure or control. Regional/Stage 3: There is a spread of cancer to the lymph nodes and surrounding tissues. There is a possibility of other organ to be infected. Distant/Stage 4: Cancer has spread to other tissues, organs and the whole body system. The staging process is carried out by number of methods such as MRI, ultrasound, CT or CAT scans, bone marrow biopsy and blood tests. Once the staging is done, the treatment begins. Treatment and Approach to Cancer Care The most conventional treatment of cancer is surgery. It is possible to completely cure a cancer patient if the cancer is not metastasized because it involves only removal of the infected tissue, for example in case of breast or prostate or testicle cancer. However if the disease is spread then it is impossible to remove all the cancerous cells through surgery. Radiation treatment or radiotherapy is another approach that destroys the cancer cells through radiations (gamma rays or high energy x-rays) that are focused on cancer cells. Radiotherapy can be used as a standalone therapy to treat cancer by shrinking a tumor or fully destroying cancer cells, for example in case of leukemia and lymphoma, however, it is being used in combination with other therapies to cure cancer (Gorin, 2010). Chemotherapy is another treatment that makes use of certain chemicals that interfere and inhibit the process of cell division by damaging their DNA so that they can commit suicide (by enhancing their apoptosis). Normal cells are affected in this process but they can recover from the chemicals in few days but the cancer cells fully die. This therapy is very effective but occurs in phases as the body gets exposure to harmful chemicals so it needs time to heal in between the phases. There is a range of side effects associated with chemotherapy, such as nausea and vomiting, hair loss and fatigue (Becker, 1981; Gorin, 2010). This therapy can be used in combination approaches to kill cancer in case of notorious cases. Immunotherapy, gene therapy and hormone therapy are three more therapies used to treat cancer. Hormone therapy is particularly used in case of breast cancer and prostate cancer by respectively focusing on reduction of levels of estrogen and level of testosterone by the use of tamoxifen, a common drug (Campbell, 2002). Gene therapy works by replacing the damaged genes with those genes that work for damaging the DNA of cancer cells. Complementary therapies have side effects which can be equally painful as the suffering of a disease. Therefore, complementary therapies are added along with conventional therapies to enhance the level of cancer care and therapeutic outcome (Grunfeld, 2006). The use of an individual approach for curing a cancer patient helps in improving the patients quality of life. Individual approach takes help of naturopathic medicine, pain management, nutrition and exercise, spiritual support and mind body medicine to cure and take care of a cancer patient. Nutrition therapy for example, provides varied and healthful diet that significantly improves the body response towards the treatment and hugely bolsters the immune system (Grunfeld, 2006). Naturopathic medicines make use of plant based supplements of food and medicine to help body heal itself naturally. Gentle exercise can prevent any damage to cardiovascular health, flexibility and muscle mass due to harmful side effects of conventional the rapies and helps the patient heal at rapid rate (Grunfeld, 2006). Conclusion Cancer has a cure if the disease is timely diagnosed and staged. Conventional therapies and complementary therapies are well collaborated and implemented mutually so as to offer individual based multidimensional approach to care of cancer. References Becker, T. M. (1981).Cancer Chemotherapy: a manual for nurses. Little Brown GBR. Bozzetti, F. (2010). Basics in clinical nutrition: nutritional support in cancer.e-SPEN, the European e-Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism,5(3), e148-e152. Campbell, J. B. (2002). Breast cancer-race, ethnicity, and survival: a literature review.Breast cancer research and treatment,74(2), 187-192. Gorin, S. S. (2010). Theory, measurement, and controversy in positive psychology, health psychology, and cancer: basics and next steps.Annals of Behavioral Medicine,39(1), 43-47. Grunfeld, E. (2006). Looking beyond survival: how are we looking at survivorship?.Journal of Clinical Oncology,24(32), 5166-5169. Holleb, A. I., Fink, D. J., Murphy, G. P. (Eds.). (1991).American Cancer Society textbook of clinical oncology. Amer Cancer Society. Rakoff-Nahoum, S. (2006). Cancer Issue: Why Cancer and Inflammation?.The Yale journal of biology and medicine,79(3-4), 123. Runnebaum, I. B. (1996). Basics of cancer gene therapy.Anticancer research,17(4B), 2887-2890. Shaffer, E. A. (2008). Gallbladder cancer: the basics.Gastroenterology hepatology,4(10), 737. Tang, D. G. (2012). Understanding cancer stem cell heterogeneity and plasticity.Cell research,22(3), 457-472.