The impact of advanced technology has increased computer usage at all levels as evidenced by the popularity of video games, increased interest on the part of students using computers to enhance learning, and business/school partnerships forming with such companies as Digital Equipment Corporation, International Business Machines, and Tandy/Radio…

A study examined relationships among per capita personal income (and by inference, socioeconomic status) of various area development districts of Kentucky and student performance on basic skills tests. The students tested were admitted to the teacher education program at Eastern Kentucky University in 1983-84. The hypothesis tested was: There is…

A major barrier to minority student participation in the Arizona State University teacher preparation program is the state-mandated requirement that all sections of the PreProfessional Skills Test (PPST) be passed before any teacher preparation courses can be taken. This paper describes the significant features of a minority recruitment/support…

In each era of curriculum reform the prevailing perceptions of what the school curriculum must accomplish define the standard of cultural literacy for our society. E. D. Hirsch believes that contemporary youth lack cultural literacy and that without this knowledge of the fundamental facts of U.S. culture they cannot effectively read or…

The Higher Education Learning Package (HELP) program at Sacramento City--an interdisciplinary approach to basic skill development for high-risk, nontraditional students--has four goals: (1) promotion of student retention at the community college through cognitive and attitudinal development, (2) personal development of students through a…

This paper presents future interactions between curriculum and test content, particularly standardized achievement test content. Three topics are discussed in question-answer form. (1) Will standardized testing dictate the curriculum in the future? An analysis of major curriculum change indicates two changes in the past 25 years: a revolution…

As a result of an influx of foreign students, and an assessment of student attitudes toward communicating with foreign students, a survey of foreign students at South Dakota State University was conducted to determine their needs in and problems with the basic speech course. Sixty-six surveys were returned. The results indicated that by far the…

A study examined the effect on grades and dropout rates of students' videotaping their first speech in a basic speech course. Subjects, 224 students at a northwest college, were tested for communication and for speech apprehension using McCroskey's Personal Report of Communication Apprehension. All students were offered an opportunity to videotape…

Each academic year, a growing number of students with basic deficiencies in skills that are mandatory for successfully achieving the benefits of higher education enter colleges and universities. This problem is not limited to minority and underprivileged populations; these students come from all walks of life, all levels of socioeconomic…

The reasons for recidivism remaining a problem among prisoners, in spite of the fact that many prisoners may have received vocational training, may be based on: (1) the way education programs are implemented in various correctional institutions--without any over-all plan or strategy; and (2) the type of individual being educated. Many inmates are…

The English department at Central College (Pella, Iowa) has implemented a program that involves the entire faculty in the development of students' basic skills. The program's support system for students and faculty includes the following components: a skills laboratory staffed by a full-time skills coordinator and by trained student tutors…

Discussed are the procedures implemented in the Orleans Parish Schools in response to the Louisiana state-mandated promotional testing program (Act 750, 1979), and concerns regarding its value. Recent findings raise fundamental questions about whether an exclusively skills-focused curriculum in the early years provides the needed grounding in…

In order to review the state of the art of competency-based adult education (CBAE), it is necessary first to note the larger context of competency-based education (CBE). Many CBE program activities that predominate all educational levels focus on academic skills. Examples of activities that apply CBE-like principles to adults exist in several…

Teachers in all disciplines must demand good writing from students if they want their writing to improve. When good writing is demanded only in English classes, students develop a double standard for their writing. To make teachers in other departments aware of their responsibility for the quality of student writing, English teachers can take the…

This transcript of a National Radio Broadcast records a discussion of various issues regarding minimum competence in schools. Presenting and analyzing these issues are a number of noted individuals in education (Kenneth Clark, Graham Down, Albert Shanker), critics, school administrators, writers and a psychologist. Areas addressed include:…