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Beyond our solar system, aurorae have been inferred from radio observations of isolated brown dwarfs (e.g. Hallinan et al. 2006; Kao et al. 2023). Within our solar system, giant planets have auroral emission with signatures across the electromagnetic spectrum including infrared emission of H3+ and methane. Isolated brown dwarfs with auroral signatures in the radio have been searched for corresponding infrared features but have only had null detections (e.g. Gibbs et al. 2022). CWISEP J193518.59-154620.3. (W1935 for short) is an isolated brown dwarf with a temperature of ~482 K. Here we report JWST observations of strong methane emission from W1935 at 3.326 microns. Atmospheric modeling leads us to conclude that a temperature inversion of ~300 K centered at 1-10 millibar replicates the feature. This represents an atmospheric temperature inversion for a Jupiter-like atmosphere without irradiation from a host star. A plausible explanation for the strong inversion is heating by auroral processes, although other internal and/or external dynamical processes cannot be ruled out. The best fit model rules out the contribution of H3+ emission which is prominent in solar system gas giants however this is consistent with rapid destruction of H3+ at the higher pressure where the W1935 emission originates (e.g. Helling et al. 2019)., Comment: Accepted in Nature 9 February 2024

Standard-setting research has yielded a rich array of more than 50 standard-setting procedures, but practitioners are likely to be confused about which to use. By synthesizing the accumulated research on standard setting and progress monitoring, this study developed a three-dimensional taxonomy for conceptualizing and operationalizing the various procedures: outcome versus growth assessment, theory-driven versus data-driven approach, and observed scale versus latent scale mapping.An empirical study is reported to illustrate how these various approaches can be implemented to meet the accountability challence in the No Child Left Behind era. Consistency analysis of 12 standard-setting procedures reveals vastly disparate pass/fail decisions among different procedures, even within the same conceptual framework or mapping operation. Particularly disturbing is the finding that the passing rate may jump from as low as 29% to as high as 79%, depending on whether the standard is mapped to the observed-score scale or the latent-score scale. Implications and future directions for policy makers, school officials, and psychometricians are discussed. (Contains 9 tables and 107 references.) (Author/SLD)

A project used the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) to assist eligible dislocated workers in determining whether training offered by the Toledo Dislocated Worker Consortium fit their needs. More specifically, O*NET was used to help the dislocated workers understand whether they had knowledge and skills that were transferable into the occupations for which training was offered. The project approach included the following general steps: (1) identify O*NET occupations related to training offered; (2) develop procedures for using O*NET in assisting clients; (3) develop knowledge and skill assessment; (4) develop individual knowledge and skill report and provide labor market information; (5) provide training to Consortium staff; and (6) analyze results. Findings indicated clients and staff were able to complete the self-assessment process; clients were successful in rating those knowledges and skills that were important to the occupation of their last job; and client ratings were similar to or not much different than the ratings in O*NET for the occupation of their past job. (Appendixes, amounting to over one-half of the report, include O*NET occupations related to target training; self-assessment instrument; sample knowledge and skills report from the self assessment; and sample labor market information report.) (YLB)

The topic of high-stakes testing (HST) is important because HST has direct and indirect effects on career-technical education (CTE) programs and timely because HST increasingly enters public discussion and has produced a large body of research and practice that generalizes to CTE. A review of HST has identified two persisting dilemmas: policy and public expectations of testing exceeding tests' technical capacities and tension between testing to increase fairness and testing to classify. Applicable strategies to provide validity for HST are reliability estimation of scores used to make decisions, expert judgements of item linkage to curricula, studies of the predictive power of HST scores, and studies of consequences. Two opposing perspectives on the accountability-testing theme are that use of HST for accountability is a positive application of data-driven management to education and that the consequences of HST are negative. Descriptions of HST systems in Kentucky, Texas, and Massachusetts indicate different ways to accomplish HST; use of advisory panels to represent stakeholders' viewpoints; and continuous change. Findings of an e-mail survey of state CTE directors suggest ways to expand assessment modalities--computer delivery of assessments and authentic assessments or multimodal assessments that include high- and low-stakes components. Implications are that the CTE community needs awareness of HST; tests should be used responsibly; and a useful database system should be developed. (Contains 76 references and a list of 8 Internet sites.) (YLB)

Career-technical educators face three issues in credentialing through assessment. First, the occupational credentialing domain is large and evolving, and a clear understanding of it is a prerequisite to considering adoption of a credential. Three types of credentialing are registration, certification, and licensure. Credentialing organizations are categorized by their mission (government regulatory board, trade association, vendor-specific, National Skills Standards Board). Oversight organizations are professional organizations that disseminate information and provide voluntary oversight by evaluating credentialing systems. Second, a set of clear, comprehensive standards is needed to define credential quality and credibility. Proposed evaluative criteria/standards to select assessment-credentialing are marketability, recognition, alignment to curriculum, quality of input standards, quality of assessments, and usability for career-technical education (CTE) setting. Third, CTE policymakers and educators need a rational, efficient process to evaluate credential systems and associated assessments against a set of standards. The following nine steps are the process: (1) define purposes and uses of occupational credentialing systems; (2) set evaluation criteria; (3) identify credentialing systems and evaluate preliminary link to programs; (4) conduct initial screening; (5) determine quality of input standards; (6) determine quality of credentialing assessments; (7) conduct final linkage to curriculum; (8) determine marketability and recognition; and (9) develop data collection procedures. (Contains a 53-item bibliography.) (YLB)

The process of assessment in career and technical education (CTE) is changing significantly under the influence of forces such as emphasis on assessment for individual and program accountability; emphasis on the investigation of consequences of assessment; emergence of item response theory, which supports computer adaptive testing; and pressure for authentic assessment by critics of standardized testing. The use of technology for assessment is being increasingly stressed. Potential advantages of computerized assessment include rapid feedback, money savings, enhanced security, more curriculum time, and capability to track process-oriented variables. Potential disadvantages include costs of equipment, personnel, and training; increased marginalization of groups based on ethnic or socioeconomic status; and missed opportunities to implement authentic assessments. Examples of applications of technology to evaluation in CTE include test design, item creation, presentation, item scoring, and location (through use of the Internet). In moving toward computerized assessment, consequences should be considered in line with current evaluation and validation models. Especially for policy makers and administrators, implementation is an important aspect of computerized assessment. Technology can support the broad changes in assessment that are ongoing as a function of internal and external scrutiny, and both authentic as well as traditional assessment can benefit from technology. (Contains 24 references.) (KC)

The number of youth under 18 confined to adult prisons has more than doubled in the past decade. A nationwide study of juveniles in adult correctional facilities was undertaken to help policymakers form an effective response to this situation. The study determined the extent of juvenile confinement in facilities around the country. It also assessed whether juveniles in adult facilities were receiving an education, were being treated for substance abuse as needed, and were given the skills to help them succeed when released. Following an introductory summary, Chapter 1 provides background information on the study. Chapter 2 discusses the legal issues relating to conditions of confinement for youth. Chapter 3 explains some characteristics of the youth in adult correctional facilities. Chapter 4 provides examples of five Department of Corrections around the country. Chapter 5 discusses alternative strategies and the technical assistance provided youth in prison. Incarcerated youth are required to receive regular, special, and vocational education services in accordance with laws and regulations for public schools. Proper identification of youth with special needs, exposure to special education curricula, and teachers certified as special education instructors should be available to these juveniles. (Contains 1 appendix, 2 figures, 12 tables, and 22 references.) (JDM)

To meet the ever growing demand to integrate information technology into all aspects of university life, the University of Arizona has been exploring new support models. One of the most successful strategies for improving the instructional environment is found in the Learning Technologies Partnership. Created in 1995 to improve support and expand development opportunities for teaching faculty, the functional links between diverse service units--computer center, library, teaching center, video services, a new media research center, and the extended university--now support a "virtual organization." The impact of this virtual organization is felt across the curriculum. In its fifth year, the Partnership is preparing to step beyond "doing" to help lead the UA into the next millennium. (Author)

This report presents the results of a National Institute of Justice national survey to determine the number of jail boot camps currently in existence or planned. It also relates some of the difficulties experienced in operating a shock incarceration program within the limited confines of a county or local jail, and provides information on the costs involved in running jail boot camp programs. Boot camp programs, also called "shock incarceration programs," are described as programs that place offenders in a quasi-military program similar to a military basic training program that instills discipline, routine, and unquestioning obedience to orders. Results are presented from 10 jurisdictions that reported operating boot camps. It is noted that all of the boot camps were administered by local Sheriff or County Department of Corrections agencies with local funding and the programs ranged in size from 12 to 350 inmates whose expected length of stay ranged from 2 to 4 months. Program goals are identified and selection criteria are described. Program services, aftercare supervision, and program results are discussed. Results of the Los Angeles County sheriff's Regimented Inmate Diversion program are included. Policy implications for operating a jail boot camp are considered. Tables and graphs are included that illustrate organizational attributes; jail boot camp goals; selection criteria and placement procedures; and services, aftercare, and completion rates for the 10 jail boot camp programs. (NB)

This study was conducted to compare causal attributions for success and failure response across four school subject areas (English, Mathematics, General Music, and Physical Education) using a "critical incident" methodology. Students (N=205) from a midwestern junior high school completed a questionnaire in which they identified important school-related failure or success experiences. After identifying specific experiences in each of the four subject areas, students responded to six-point Likert-type scale items designed to assess the relative importance of eight causal attributions: ability, effort, strategy, interest, task difficulty, luck, family influence, and teacher influence. Results from a series of analyses of variance, multiple analyses of variance, chi-square, correlational and factor analyses indicated that students' responses were outcome-, attribution-, subject area-, and task-dependent. Consistent with prior dispositional studies, the presence of a strong self-serving effect for attributional response and the absence of the bipolar attributional dimensions advocated by Weiner (1979) were confirmed. A unique finding was the altruism displayed by students in assessing the influence of significant others (teacher, family) on their success and failure experiences; that is, students gave credit to others for their successes, but refused to blame them for failures. The findings suggest that attributional response could not be generalized across subject areas or across specific tasks within some subject areas--most notably General Music and Physical Education. (Author/NB)