Competency testing in New York State began in the nineteenth century, first with a local testing mandate and later with the "preliminary Regents examinations," which were administered at the end of the eighth grade. Optional competency tests were introduced in 1962, and in 1976 the Board of Regents mandated the passing of a series of…

The New York Regents Competency Testing Program has been designed to assure that all students develop adequate skills in reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics before graduation from high school. In this booklet, information is provided on two elements of the Regents Competency Testing Program: diploma standards and screening tests.…

In March and April of 1992, 60 representatives of state-funded workplace education programs in New York attended day-long regional workshops to identify ways of improving program planning and evaluation methods. After the workshops, the participants returned to their home programs, organized local evaluation teams, and developed action plans to…

This booklet contains reference group summaries for the Pupil Evaluation Program tests, the preliminary competency tests, the Regents competency test, and the Regents examinations that were administered during the 1985-86 school year in New York State. Summaries are also included for high school graduation results. Results are presented in tabular…

This report examines the current status of federal and state involvement in educational personnel development. First, it describes the federal legislative process, and offers a list of members of Congressional committees dealing with education legislation. Next, it analyzes involvement of the U.S. Office of Education and of individual states in…

The New York State Regents Competency Testing Program is described. Competency tests have been developed in the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics, for two purposes: (1) to identify those students who need remedial help; and (2) to assure that students receiving high school diplomas have acquired adequate competence in these areas.…

A comprehensive strategy for allocating New York's resources for combating illiteracy must be adopted. The state's education department must become more active in coordinating literacy education efforts by publishing and circulating a directory of all public, private, and volunteer literacy services currently available. The state education…

The Youth Work Skills Program provided basic skills remediation, support services, and subsidized or unsubsidized work placement to out-of-school, economically disadvantaged youth aged 16-21 with demonstrated reading scores at or below the fifth-grade level. The program had three phases: basic education/vocational and career exploration, basic…

The School to Employment Program (STEP) provided job placement, training, counseling, and remediation for economically disadvantaged youth aged 14-21 who were at risk of dropping out of school or who had dropped out and were unprepared for employment. Its two major components were in-school and out-of-school programs. Youth in both programs were…