In this article the Governor of Arkansas discusses the importance of the Arkansas Educational Skills Assessment Test which all Arkansas teachers must pass. (Author/MT)

This paper describes the California Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST), the educator response to it, and its effect at the district and individual levels. Questions are raised regarding the implications that implementation of present policy have for future students and teachers in California. (MT)

This response to a previous article concerning the use of the CBEST considers the importance of periodic review of testing and scoring procedures, the uses and improvement of these procedures, and the search for alternatives which better suit the intended purposes. (CB)

The Texas legislation requiring testing of teachers holding "life" credentials is reviewed. The reactions of teachers groups to the Texas Examination of Current Administrators and Teachers (TECAT) and to the Governor's support for testing are described. (Author/MT)

Issues raised by teacher competency testing are addressed. How competency can be defined and measured and whether competency assessment makes a positive contribution to teaching are discussed along with legal and ethical concerns. (Author/MT)

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)

A study examining political and economic issues of the teacher certification movement, focusing on how it affects teacher shortages, presents data regarding the impact of the California Basic Education Skills Test on instructional programs at racially isolated schools. (Author/CB)

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)

Information regarding tests and requirements at entrance into teacher education programs, at initial certification, and as a teacher are presented on a state-by-state basis. (Author/MT)

The teacher education profession must develop a program to assess essential elements of professional knowledge comprising a teacher education curricula so that institutions can prepare teachers who can demonstrate that they have gained an acceptable mastery of cognitive and affective learning. (Author/CB)