Ways of attempting to ensure competence in teaching reading have changed dramatically over the past 60 years. By comparing tests designed to be administered to 1923 and 1983 teacher candidates, this article illustrates the ways in which they are qualitatively different and considers the implications of those differences. (MT)

Presents arguments by Robert Lowe and Matthew Arnold on the 19th century British "Payment by Results" Plan, whereby schools received funds for students who passed minimal competency tests. Emphasizes that the Victorian experience produced acrimonious teachers with low morale and encourages contemporary minimal testing advocates not to…

The author examines previous efforts to establish certifying examinations for high school students and their effects on curriculum and students, particularly minorities. Also, to introduce readers to the rest of this theme issue on testing, he briefly discusses test validity, cutoff scores, and effects on teachers. (SJL)

This article reviews developments in the field of educational measurement over the preceding 20 years, focusing on criterion-referenced measurement, item response theory, standard-setting methods, and equating methods. (TJH)

Reviews 14 selected conferences and 11 key reports and documents regarding professional preparation and the development of professional standards in health education, starting with a 1943 statement from the American Public Health Association. The review was developed from an analysis of original documents containing conference proceedings and…

Testing of teacher competence is traced from colonial times to the present. Various forms of teacher testing were commonplace up through the nineteenth century. A major educational reform movement in the early twentieth century succeeded in eliminating teacher tests in favor of proper and uniform preparation through teacher education. (BS)

This paper explores how a set of curriculum reforms in the United States and England over the past 20 years may be interrelated, according to conclusions drawn from ethnographic investigation and informed by historical reflections. The discussion centers upon the case of informal, open, or progressive education, which has enjoyed a 40 plus--year…

New minimum high school graduation standards were mandated for 1978-79 graduates, by Florida's Educational Accountability Act of 1976. Requirements included mastery of basic skills, completion of minimum course credits, and satisfactory performance on functional literacy tests. The literacy test was the primary criterion for graduation. On its…