Supports "The Ohio Literacy Initiative" (a document the Ohio Department of Education developed as a resource for districts interested in designing and implementing an effective, comprehensive literacy framework) as it calls for community efforts to help districts attain and support confident and articulate readers and writers. (NH)

Concern about the preparation and competence of teachers has brought about a rapid spread of teacher competency assessment programs. Currently, 36 states test or plan to test teachers prior to certification. Two states, Arkansas and Texas, are already involved with testing teachers in service. Teacher competency testing has become embroiled in…

A number of forces are likely to contribute to future issues in educational assessment: (1) reduction in government resources, (2) financial pressures broadening the diversity of post-secondary applicant pools; (3) adult student emergence at the post secondary level; (4) concern with accountability of schools and educators; (5) strengthening of…

Increasing public understanding of school testing programs is seen as the joint responsibility of test publishers and schools, and also as a primary responsibility on the part of test publishers to increase the schools' understanding of tests. The most common areas of misunderstanding about tests are addressed: purpose of the testing program; the…

Remarks made at several panel discussions are summarized in this narrative report. The discussion topics and speakers include: (1) public education and testing--Tom Tomlinson, Ann Kahn, Herb Mack, and Jean Nazzaro, with remarks by Patricia Albjerg Graham; (2) standards regarding testing--Walt Haney, Barbara Lerner, Ann Cook, Willo White, and Bob…

The events surrounding legal challenges to minimum competency testing programs are described, and ways of coping with the experiences are suggested. Discussion primarily is based on five legal challenges to the Florida program although reference is made to suits in other states for contrast. Whenever a student is faced with a threat to promotion…

Productive changes in schooling throughout the 1980s are contingent on emphasis being placed on school effectiveness rather than on curriculum adjustments. Today's curriculum sprawl, caused by the state and federal legislatures' penchant for creating courses to cure newly-emerging social ills, must not deplete resources that should be directed…

Fear of poor teaching and low national test scores have spawned a back to basics movement and a shift from the use of tests as predictors and models to that of assessment and achievement. This movement may have positive impact on the teaching of English, which previously has not lent itself well to standardized testing. Although many English…

Proposals for a British national curriculum and national assessment procedures are discussed in terms of a timetable for implementation, the foundation subjects, relevance of subjects to children's lives, attainment targets and testing, and children with special educational needs. (DB)

Four assumptions of the current reform movement in teacher education are critiqued: (1) that teacher education should be at the graduate level; (2) that teacher education should be more relevant; (3) that higher admission standards and increased testing are good; and (4) that higher standards will be mean higher salaries. (MT)

By themselves, standardized teacher competency tests only aggravate the impending shortage of qualified teachers. A more comprehensive approach is needed to make teaching the kind of appealing profession that can both sustain higher standards of admission and attract greater numbers of candidates able to qualify under those higher standards.…

Testing for admission to a teacher education program, testing subject matter knowledge, testing competence, and testing a teacher's understanding of children are all discussed. The value of a continuing program of evaluation of prospective teachers is stressed. (Author/MT)

If state certification and other bureaucratic requirements were dropped in favor of a genuine review of the skills of individual teacher candidates, the issue of who should train teachers would be resolved, since only those who successfully educated candidates would survive. (MT)

The Florida Court decision reaffirms a state's right to impose a diploma sanction when competency tests are valid. Testing specialists now have a precedent for demonstrating curricular and instructional validity. Competency testing programs are a useful method for implementing instructional improvements. (DWH)

Teacher education will probably continue to receive specific attention in the competency testing area. Professional educators need to apply the best knowledge and practice available if testing is to become a valuable and valid part of the teacher certification process. (CJB)