Policy-making problems being faced in Louisiana regarding the testing of handicapped students within a state mandated minimum competency testing program are dealt with. The decision-making process is complicated by the fact that two groups (staff administering the test and staff administering programs for the handicapped) with differing…

Three members of the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association express their positions about minimum competency standards. Kenneth Goodman presents a humanitarian, idealistic view of the controversy and questions the effectiveness of legislative mandates. Roger Farr expresses concern that limitations of testing procedures might…

Experiences with competency testing at the elementary level in the area of English language are presented, as well as suggestions for improving the quality of competency tests. In order to modify curricula and requirements to meet the demands of assessment and to ensure sufficient student instruction, the following suggestions are made: (1)…

Major issues surrounding the meaningful assessment of students outcomes as part of program evaluation in special education are identified, including: the concept of competence; the development of minimum competency tests; the use of these tests with disabled students; behavioral domains and the classification of competencies; and the measurement…

States that teachers must evaluate not only cognitive and psychomotor skills but also attitudes and perceptions. Cites five factors contributing to improved testing: (1) criterion-reference evaluation, (2) school effectiveness research, (3) minimum competency testing, (4) new concepts of student evaluation, and (5) better teacher-made tests. (CH)

Developers of high stakes criterion-referenced tests are urged to formulate test tasks so that efficient instruction can promote student mastery of the domain. Time-on-task has been promoted by instructional psychologists as preferable to test teaching. (DWH)

Florida mandated high school competency tests in 1978. Evidence presented in the court case of Debra P. versus Turlington indicated students learn what they are taught. Low failure districts reported more concentration on basic skills. The issue of educational equity versus educational excellence has not been more resolved. (DWH)

This paper describes the philosophic assumptions underlying the movement towards minimum competency testing. Definitions of such concepts as scientific educational management, what is worth knowing, and the knower are explored. (DF)

Steps can be taken in the areas of curriculum, testing, and tracking to raise educational standards for all students. Specifically, local and state authorities should cooperate to tighten course requirements, tie standardized examinations to the curriculum, and institute a demanding common curriculum in the years before high school tracking. (MJL)

Much of the debate on testing over the last two decades has centered on issues of equity. In this review of testing and the minority child, the ways in which schools can test and use test results to help all children learn are explained. (Author)

The need for improved accountability has led to more competency-based testing. This provides test makers with the opportunity to have greater impact on the curriculum. Several strategies are suggested for measurement-based instructional improvement. (Author/PN)

Research findings suggest that methods used to improve teaching are as important as the goals. Solutions sought should be those that professionalize the practice of teaching and make education sufficiently attractive to recruit and retain talented people as teachers. (MLF)

Parents are interested in testing, but they need information about what types of tests are given to their children, what tests measure, and how tests can be used constructively. Standardized tests are the particular concern of parents because they believe testing is an integral part of education. (Author/CM)

Survey research establishes that beardedness correlates with many desired outcomes and supports that a minimal level of beardedness be set as a prerequisite for high school graduation. Research problems of concept clarification, domain-definition, instrument development, and standard setting methods are discussed. The political considerations of…

Minimum competencies are being imposed on the schools by state legislators frustrated by declining academic achievement. Teachers must not allow this movement to engender a "teaching for the test" mentality. They must work for a balanced curriculum, good remedial programs, and competency tests which provide real feedback for teaching. (SJL)