Examines the Oregon program in which each school district establishes and measures its own set of competency standards. (Author/IRT)

The authors review the background of competency-based education (CBE), discuss its merits and drawbacks, and cite recommendations from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. (DS)

This report on the Pennsylvania statewide assessment program answers two questions: (1) what are minimum competencies?; and (2) for whom are competencies really minimal? (Author/MP)

The Nebraska Assessment Battery of Essential Learning Skills (N-ABELS) is a goal-oriented instrument with an evaluation component providing a basis for determining acquisition of twelve skills defined as learning goals. Each goal is stated in terms of an acceptable performance standard which clearly describes what the student must do. The skills…

Defines skills used in the reasoning process: problem solving, classification and organization, making reasoned judgments, and researching a subject. Lists Vermont's basic competencies in reasoning and notes that teachers and the community must accept the competencies of reasoning as legitimate educational concerns. (KC)

Due to the current legislative trend toward competency-based education, and the accompanying minimal competency testing, a variety of local school districts and state education agencies are concurrently developing programs to meet the standards set by their state's legislation. This selective bibliography was compiled in order to aid those…

A study examined the system of performance measures and standards approved in each state in response to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. An initial letter and two follow-up letters were sent to 54 state directors of vocational education. All states responded with information concerning their approved systems of…

This handbook contains suggestions for the use of results from the New Mexico High School Proficiencies Examination (NMHSPE) and describes procedures for developing programs and planning intervention strategies. The information and guidelines will facilitate administrative action for program improvement through integration of the NMHSPE results…

The first of a series of self-instructional learning modules designed to familiarize users with Oregon minimum standards for public schools, this document includes background and expectations concerning Oregon's minimum standards and introduces the publication "Elementary-Secondary Guide for Oregon Schools: Part I, Minimum Standards for…

The Nebraska Assessment Battery of Essential Learning Skills (N-ABELS) is a goal-oriented instrument with an evaluation component providing a basis for determining acquisition of twelve skills defined as learning goals. Each goal is stated in terms of an acceptable performance standard which clearly describes what the student must do. The skills…

Describes national and state competency assessment programs and presents suggestions for outlining basic competencies in social studies. Contends that social studies goes beyond basic skills, and that competencies should be self-serving as well as complementary to other subject areas. Notes the responsibility of social studies in promoting social…

A sample of 1,731 North Carolina high school students who initially failed the state Competency Test registered improvements on subsequent reexaminations. The gains were apparently stable and related more to in-school factors than to individual background characteristics. (Author/PN)

In fall 1992, the Iowa Department of Education began pilot tests of the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS), an assessment system evaluating reading, math, and problem solving in a life skills context for adult remedial programs. This document provides reports from the nine community colleges that served as test sites, describing…

The most important aspect of competency-based education is clearly linked to Bloom's mastery learning model: the establishment of behaviors which ought to be learned and adequately performed by public school students. The main components of competency based education are: (1) establishment of student standards; (2) student testing; and (3)…

New Jersey's statewide testing program demonstrates that systematic data collection and reporting can have a major impact on both understanding the gap between college expectations and high school preparation and on the college and pre-college efforts to close that gap. (Author/MLW)