When the state legislators of Illinois mandated a full-scale statewide assessment program in reading/language arts, the Illinois Association of Teachers of English (IATE) made its stand clear: that tests for Illinois students must be created, designed, and executed by Illinois English/language arts educators, and that a writing sample was an…

Designed to encourage debate, discussion, and, eventually, evaluation of the minimum competency testing movement, this book examines academic, physical, social, aesthetic, and vocational competencies that are basic to the development of the early adolescent. The first of six chapters, Early Adolescent Competencies, raises issues facing schools for…