Performance assessment could be the key to restructuring schools for higher standards and improved accountability, and at the very least should add an expanded dimension to educational assessment. Defines performance assessment, reviews some of the research on this topic, and addresses some of the issues regarding performance assessment of concern…

Defines critical academic skills that should be the hallmark of Kansas community college graduates, in anticipation of a legislative mandate for a common accountability measurement system. Presents five key critical competencies: oral and written communication skills, interpersonal and team skills, critical thinking and complex problem-solving…

Schools of tomorrow will be completely different physically and operationally. The author of this article states that we cannot tolerate the current high failure rates in terms of graduation and possession of the competencies needed to function successfully as citizens in a democracy, productively as workers and heuristically as learners. He lists…

To facilitate an increase in student learning, the curriculum for the Principles of Management course at Collin County Community College was redesigned to reflect a business organization environment. This course differs from the traditional approach in the following ways: (1) the course is based on 47 competencies a team of corporate managers…

Outcome-based education (OBE) means clearly focusing and organizing everything in an educational system around what is essential for all students to be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experiences. This book examines the issues critical to understanding and implementing OBE. Chapter 1 addresses a range of issues related to the…

If education can be deemed adequate when it meets both societal and individual needs sufficiently, those planning to provide programs of adequate education must consider what societal and individual needs must be met, how those needs can be met, and what resources must be called on when meeting them. This paper considers the development of the…

Some of the leading concepts of phenomenology have direct relevance for the practice of adult education. Adults bring to the learning experience a vast stock of assimilated knowledge. Very important to the process is the notion of critical reflection as a constituent of this stock of knowledge--the knowledge is not merely stored but is judged and…

Three authors respond to the findings of a study by Griffiths and King, which was contracted by the Department of Education to identify the professional competencies that should be encompassed by library and information science programs, and the methods by which the competencies' relation to professional performance may be evaluated. (CLB)

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)

This discussion paper addresses the impact of major trends in certification and credentialing on community colleges. Most community colleges are familiar with traditional credentialing and certification. However, changes in the number of people seeking higher education as a means to a better economic future and the shifting skill requirements 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)

Developing basic competencies of the successful professional is seen as the purpose of professional education. The basic competencies of the applied behavioral scientist are described. The conditions and processes for developing competencies are discussed, emphasizing the need for multi-modal learning experiences and the development of the whole…

Conceptually, performance-based education shows promise of preserving quality, equal opportunity, and efficiency given the mandate for better utilization of resources in light of predicted declines in student populations and revenues. Requirements to implement a performance-based system and barriers that may impede its adoption or success are…