Many countries have implemented versions of competency-based training in which competency standards or statements serve to provide standardized learning and skill development outcomes for vocational education and training. It seems that a main attraction that motivated the introduction of such competency-based systems was the assumption by some…

Civil Rights leaders should be demanding educational standards, not working to defeat them, which is the outcome of the movement's shift away from color-blind standards. The growing preoccupation with race-conscious policies has affected Black academic achievement negatively. Disadvantaged minorities should applaud competency standards for…

This paper describes the commonly found "knowledge delivery" education format and argues that work outside the academy and more in-depth academic training demand skills and competencies not developed by the "knowledge delivery" model. The knowledge curriculum education is characterized as lecture-type instruction, knowledge delivery and exposure,…

Recently, state government and concerned educational agencies in California have shown much interest in adopting a more "rigorous" curriculum for all students, longer school days, and stricter high school graduation and college entrance requirements. These proposed measures are not wrong in themselves, but as standards required for every…

This document answers the questions Kentuckians asked Governor Wallace G. Wilkinson (Kentucky) about his proposals for educational reform. Governor Wilkinson claims that the traditional school structure leaves the educational needs of many children unmet because it is not flexible enough to meet their different learning needs. The Governor…

This report describes the uses of visual literacy programs in the schools and outlines four categories for incorporating training in visual thinking into school curriculums as part of the back to basics movement in education. The report recommends that curriculum writers include materials pertaining to: (1) reading visual language and…

The Board of Education of the School District of the City of Saginaw requested the Department of Evaluation Services to review the literature relative to competency testing, especially for the elementary grades. This review on competency testing programs and competency based education (CBE) covers several areas. The emphasis on educational…

This descriptive report looks at Pensacola Junior College's (PJC's) efforts to: (1) define the competencies students are to acquire through the college's vocational and general education programs; and (2) map out a sequence of courses for each program, based on a hierarchical ranking of these competencies. The report first discusses an employer…

James Bryant Conant's book, "The Education of America" (1963), triggered a major change in physical education curricula. Formerly a (sports) skills and applied techniques oriented discipline, physical education has expanded to areas such as kinesiology and sports sociology. However, performance and performance courses are still an important aspect…

A study of the implementation of a rational/bureaucratic model of knowledge in classrooms suggests that current modes of educational administration are based on control, via rational planning, of social relations, individual consciousness, and epistemology. Bureaucratic organization and professionalism enjoy a symbiotic relationship, combined with…

Arguing that the term "competency based education" (CBE) has been erroneously applied to minimum competency programs, this booklet contends that the problems addressed by the minimum competency movement can be, but probably will not be, resolved by the implementation of true competency based education (CBE). The first section of the booklet…

Proficiency, or competency, testing is a recent attempt to meet the public demand for accountability. But instead of placing the responsibility on the educational organization, competency testing appears to be a sophisticated approach to holding students and teachers accountable. Although some form of student assessment is needed, it is not yet…

This is the concluding part of an article published in the August 1983 edition. A number of arguments are developed to demonstrate the inadequacy of behaviorally defined objectives as a basis for curriculum planning. (SSH)

Previews the findings of "A Study of High Schools," cosponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Commission on Educational Issues. Offers overall impressions of field visits to high schools and suggests eight principles by which high schools should be restructured. (JW)

The behavioral event interview, it is suggested, provides a rich source of information on a prospective student's college potential (information different from standardized aptitude and achievement testing). Its use with a set of criteria for admission provides useful indices to gauge the talents within diversely prepared students. (MLW)