Cultural competent care is the ability to deliver effective medical care to people from different cultures. The lack of methodological rigor and paucity of psychometric properties information of the instruments limits the generalizability of cultural competency educational interventions. We examined cultural attitudes of first year medical…

Higher education accrediting bodies are increasing the emphasis on assessing student learning outcomes as opposed to teaching methodology. The purpose of this article is to describe the process used by Troy University's Master of Public Administration program to change their assessment approach from a course learning objective perspective to a…

Alabama's public high school principals support the concept of minimum competency testing for students but are reluctant to allocate time and money to this effort at the expense of other curricular endeavors, according to a recent survey. (PGD)

This document is designed to assist classroom teachers in preparing students to successfully complete the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE). It consists of activities that are correlated with the Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics, Bulletin 1997, No. 4, and Standards and Objectives (Reading Comprehension, Language, Mathematics, and…

Performance-based accreditation has been adopted by a number of states as a means of assuring that local school systems are maintaining quality education programs. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the amount of variance in burnout among Alabama public school teachers and principals that could be accounted for by stress related to…

The effect of a basic competency education program on the achievement of high, average, and low-achieving students was examined for the Alabama Basic Competency Education program (BCE). California Achievement Tests scores in reading, mathematics, and language were examined for 3 years prior to initiation of the BCE program and for 3 years…

The following papers are presented in this publication: (1) "The Technology of Teacher-Competency Testing" (Cordell Wynn); (2) "The Black Public School Teacher: Alabama's Endangered Species" (Charlena Bray); (3) "Early Identification and Preparation for Successful Entry into Teacher Education Programs" (M. Carolyn…

The purpose of this paper is to report on the processes followed and the modifications made to the Alabama state minimum competency testing program for exceptional students, as well as to provide results for exceptional students tested through spring 1985. A committee of lay citizens and professional educators identified basic competencies in…

Committees on Content Analysis and Correlation Studies were appointed by the Alabama State Superintendent of Education to provide information regarding the similarities and differences between the Californa Achievement Tests (CAT), Levels 13-C and 16-C, and the Alabama Basic Competency Tests (BCT), grade 3 and 6. The major purpose of these…

Thorough planning is required before implementing an examination for a high school diploma. It was decided in 1977 that Alabama educators would establish minimum competencies for grades 3, 6, and 9. The competencies for grade 9 then became the skills to be assessed on the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE), first given to eleventh…

This paper compares descriptive information based on analyses of the pilot and live administrations of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE). The AHSGE, a product of decisions made in 1977 and 1984 by the Alabama State Board of Education, is composed of subject tests in reading, mathematics, and language. The pass score for each…

A technical advisory committee assisted the Alabama State Department of Education in establishing passing scores and equating test forms of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE). The committee examined four methods of setting cutting scores: (1) Jensen's theoretical method--probability theory is used to set standards that are…