To improve speech communication education at the secondary school level, high school and college teachers must focus attention on speaking and listening content and on research having direct applications to speech instruction. Three approaches to curriculum planning have weakened secondary school level speech programs: the popularization of…

SWAT (Study with a Teacher) provided a 2 week summer program for 26 handicapped high school students who were mainstreamed into the regular vocational education program. Teams of participants were divided into career clusters with a vocational instructor and special education teacher. Staff was trained to use SWAT revised lesson plans and…

The statistical technique of discriminant analysis was applied to selected remedial education programs within a statewide system of higher education in the Southeastern United States in an effort to explore that technique's potential for identifying student characteristics (variables) that discriminate between those who are successfully remediated…

The study identified elementary level non-academic employment competencies needed by students with visual impairments. The first phase of the study validated and prioritized 32 competencies needed for successful employment of adults with visual impairments. Competencies were rated by 141 professionals including coordinators of services for…

Applications of the qualitative approach in the evaluation of special education and second language programs are addressed in this paper. Qualitative data are recommended for providing detailed descriptions of specific program elements, and can be obtained through interviews, observations, case studies, and ethnographic studies. Six evaluation…

Two main points should be noted concerning strategies recommended for teaching basic writing students. First, teachers can develop only those strategies that are consonant with their own personalities and that will enable students to develop their own writing strategies. Second, whatever strategies are selected should lead students beyond the…

This paper considers three areas related to the testing of minimum knowledge and skills: public policy, the nature of higher-order thinking and selected aspects of educational measurement. The discussion of public policy issues centers around an apparent dichotomy of egalitarianism and elitism in public education, schooling and the public economy,…

This paper examined some of the issues surrounding the Arizona Teacher Proficiency Examination (ATPE), including the rationale for teacher testing, the Arizona approach to testing, and selected student outcomes. Arizona moved from Legislative directive in April 1980, to the implementation of the Arizona Teacher Proficiency Examination in June…

Phase I of a study was conducted to identify the basic mathematics competencies needed for job success in office occupations (14 job clusters). It also sought to determine the differences between employees' and employer/supervisors' perceptions of the degree of importance of mathematics skills for office occupations. Following a review of…

This study probed children's reasoning about both correct and incorrect but plausible statements of hypothetical children concerning the concepts of subtraction, with the intention of examining misconceptions in greater depth. Eight third graders, 14 fourth graders, and 14 fifth graders were interviewed individually to assess their understanding…

Pointing out a serious decline in the educational attainment of the nation's youth, this discussion of ways in which technology can begin to renew and improve education in American schools argues that, just as cable television and computer teleconferencing opened communication capabilities, the microcomputer presents unlimited possibilities for…

Basic skills teachers have a legal and moral responsibility to instruct students in reading, writing, and mathematics. The obligations of teachers and principals are extensions of the legal responsibility assumed by the state and local boards of education and practitioners' professional and moral responsibilities. Teachers and principals are…

The objective of this project was to develop a valid and reliable multiple choice test of six basic science process skills for students in grades 4 to 8 (ages 8 to 14 years). Seven criteria were outlined for the test: an emphasis on the six most widely used science process skills (observation, inference, prediction, measurement, communication, and…

The most significant factor in developing the video design of a telecourse must always be the needs of the students who will view the program. In developing videotapes for a writing telecourse at a Texas community college, the instructors attempted to design programs to meet the special cognitive and affective needs of its nontraditional audience.…

The statewide implementation of the Georgia State Board of Education (GSBE) policy for high school graduation requirements was begun in September, 1980. It specifically stated that the GSBE would be responsible for assessing the basic skills, or learner skills, of students enrolled in public schools. It further stated that each local school system…