There is currently a conflict between educational accountability and the distrust of standardized testing. Concern for the quality of education is based on evidence of students' academic dificiencies, the decline in test scores, and increasing education costs and school taxes. As a result of criticism, states have mandated, or are considering,…

A controversial Arkansas law requires that all currently employed certified teachers pass a specially developed literacy test. This article describes the rational for teacher testing in terms of professional, ethical, and political issues. Testing is necessary for public support for reforms that improve the professional status and salaries of…

South Carolina's Educator Improvement Act, a recently enacted teacher minimum competency testing measure, is described. The act mandates testing of basic skills and subject matter knowledge of college students planning to teach, and observational assessment of the performance of teachers and student teachers. Testing provisions are discussed. (PP)

Two aspects of the teacher testing issue are discussed: (1) reasons for assuming that teachers should be tested; and (2) domains in which testing might occur. The effects of testing on teacher quality and public opinion are discussed. Ways that teacher educators can use their influence to improve teacher quality are suggested. (PP)

The author considers the legality of minimum competency testing diploma requirements applied to the handicapped in light of (1) their constitutional and statutory rights to nondiscriminatory treatment, (2) their statutory right to an appropriate education, and (3) their constitutional right to substantive and procedural due process. (Author/SSH)

Acknowledges the need for state-level educational accountability, but argues that strategies for assessing educational outcomes should be an institutional prerogative and an integral part of the teaching/learning process. Criticizes assessment programs imposed by state governments, proposing instead a student-centered approach to the measurement…

Discussion of high school graduation requirements for students with disabilities focuses on legal and practical issues including graduation standards, minimum competency testing, and termination of services. Recommendations are offered to help school districts establish a process for graduating students with disabilities within the legal framework…

A major initiative in Australia is a general and pervasive obsession with competency-based training and assessment. There is a real danger that the selling of competency-based training (CBT) and competency-based assessment (CBA) is greater than what it can offer. One criticism focuses on CBT, the other on CBA, although in most instances where CBT…

Florida's Commissioner of Education recently appointed a task force to review current standards for the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) and the effect of raising the levels of passing scores that are proposed for 1989. There is now a sufficient history of the CLAST to provide an understanding of the program's benefits and liabilities.…

This paper: (1) provides the conceptual underpinnings of the knowledge about effective school practices that bear directly on the quality of the teacher workforce; and (2) analyzes current policy decisions and their ability to affect positive changes. Working conditions enhancing teacher commitment, retention, and teaching effectiveness are…

Reasons to de-emphasize testing as a means of assessing teacher quality are offered in this paper. The following questions pertinent to teacher testing are asked: (1) Granted that teacher education is now attracting low caliber students, can the testing movement reverse the trend? (2) Is it justifiable to determine, and even predict, the quality…

Tips to help persons involved with law-related education (LRE) take advantage of the current demands for educational reform are presented in this special issue, which explores how ferment for reform in education can be a boon to legal education as long as LRE educators understand the changes that are taking place and are alert to ways of making…

The minimum competency movement's rationale can be reduced to four problem-laden propositions: the state through its schools owes every child an education; a high school graduate should be at least minimally competent; schools should be held accountable for seeing to it that every child meets this standard; and to assure this, every child must be…

The minialist approach to social policy, especially concerning public education, has not worked because the assurance of minimal protection for the deprived also entails a rise in acceptable levels of attainment for those above the minimum, in order to preserve their competitive advantage. Also, particular minimums, such as universal elementary…

Discussions at the National Consortium on Testing conference are summarized. Updates on recent and upcoming events are given by Jeff Schiller (National Institute of Education), Doug Whitney (American Council on Education), John Maxwell (National Council of Teachers of English), Dorianne Almann (National Science Teachers Association), Eric Gardner…