The text of a conversation with a Florida special education administrator explores such aspects as the skills that are being tested, how standards were derived, the effects of testing on curricula, special diplomas, and the improvement in scores noted in the second year of the testing. (DLS)

The author refutes arguments used by the critics of Competency Based Education (CBE), but also states that CBE cannot succeed without real commitment and the careful planning of several key components. (SJL)

Minimum competency testing is not so much an educational movement as it is a power struggle. State legislatures will be the winners; teachers and poor students the losers. (Author)

Reviews concerns associated with restructuring curricula to match current competency requirements. Identifies need for change, presents three models that can provide faculty with a starting point for implementing change, and discusses models for assessing colleges that are in the process of formulating student learning outcomes approaches.…

Comments on the negative aspects of discipline-based art education (DBAE), focusing on standardized instruction and testing. Criticizes the designers of DBAE for using a technocratic, rationalistic model of education. Expresses concern that DBAE evokes identical student responses, rather than the diverse outcomes that should be the goal of art…

Presents a deconstructionist perspective of competency-based educational (CBE) technology. Traces the growth of CBE, emphasizing the political and philosophical context. Identifies the mechanisms of power and knowledge that form the constituent elements of CBE technology. Discusses the impact of the implementation of CBE at personal,…

Professions take different approaches to competency-based continuing education: (1) pharmacy and nursing analyze competence in terms of roles and tasks (performance); (2) law analyzes professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes (attributes); and (3) medicine analyzes attributes in the context of performance of professional tasks, an integrated…

Class-produced newspapers are clear examples of product-driven learning, which requires a visible, though not always tangible, product; an audience other than the students themselves; whole-class involvement; and completion during normal school hours. Further examples are provided, including a first-grade circus, a fourth-grade rain forest tour,…

A student-centered and transformative perspective on learning acknowledges different forms of knowledge and methods of knowledge construction. It is incompatible with competency-based models such as the New Zealand Qualifications framework, which has a narrow utilitarian view, ignores connections between knowledge and power, and obscures…

Peter Webster believes that a study of the history of music teaching and learning in North America will likely reveal very few examples of extended and well-argued professional discourse. By "discourse" he means a continuous expression or exchange of ideas designed to present contrasting views on important issues in the music teaching…

Competency-based education can be a viable tool for demonstrating accountability in speech communication instruction. The objectives of speech communication instruction tend to be based more upon the content than upon the everyday communication needs of the students. Rather than continue the approach of basing instruction on assumptions of what…

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, the author provides an overview of center activities, including contributions in the areas of competency-based education, leadership development, equity and access, policy planning and evaluation, developing linkages, and dissemination of…

Introduces and defines strategic planning in organizational training, describes four current schools of curriculum theory--subject-centered, experience-centered, objectives-centered, and opportunity-centered--and illustrates how each theory can be modified to make training anticipate as well as react to organizational needs. (MBR)

Discusses methodological implications of a proficiency orientation focused on speaking, placing proficiency in the context of grammar, communicative competence, and functions/notions. Discusses repercussions in foreign language teaching of the varying emphases on these contexts. Asserts that a proficiency orientation allows tailoring of teaching…

The development of curriculum and instructional materials for competency-based education (CBE) is a costly and complex process involving many critical tasks. Failure to carry out any of these tasks can jeopardize the entire instructional development effort. The importance of the process demands that appropriate and effective procedures be used so…