Teacher competency testing for the purpose of screening persons prior to state certification continues to be on the upswing in the United States. Many states have implemented paper-pencil tests, most of which were prepared by Educational Testing Service and National Evaluation Systems. Problem areas to consider when certification tests are used to…

In response to public pressures and a legislative mandate, the State of Arizona began to systematically evaluate prospective teachers while concomitantly requiring a restructuring of the Arizona teacher preparation programs at the college and university level as part of a program entitled the Arizona Performance-Based Teacher Certification…

Although isolating the degree of association that exists between a teacher's specific knowledge and his or her particular classroom performance is extremely difficult at best, that is the focus of the knowledge and performance based instruments used in the evaluation of preservice English teachers in the University of Georgia teacher education…

Georgia Institute of Technology has created a preparatory workshop that avoids focusing composition courses on the state competency exam while helping its students pass the exam. In checking the exams of students who had failed, three problems appeared: lack of motivation, lack of awareness of the standards for grading the exam, and an inability…

This seven-item annotated bibliography reviews such issues as career education, experiential learning, computer literacy, and community involvement as they relate to course content and methods of teaching.

The development of an intervention program initiated by the Kentucky Department of Education to ensure that minority education majors have access to training in skills needed for standardized tests is described. (MT)

Observing that an undesirable byproduct of competency testing for teacher certification has been a nationwide decrease in the number of Blacks entering teaching, this article analyzes Louisiana data on race of National Teacher Examinations takers and declining percentages of Blacks entering the profession. (MJL)

Reports on an experiment designed to identify positive variables in the essay writing of Black college students and to use the variables in a new writing course. Suggests that instruction in concepts, skills, and relationships, when combined with consideration of students' diagnosed needs, can result in writing improvement. (AOS)

The issues surrounding the age-old traditions of the English educational system and the new configurations of teaching and assessment that are emerging are described. A report ("A Language for Life"), prepared for the Department of Education and Science by a committee headed by Sir Alan Bullock, is summarized. (Author/MLW)

The President of Miami University of Ohio explains why he has proposed a test of basic reading and writing skills as a graduation requirement at his institution. (SJL)

A test that for a decade has been required of Florida college students before they can become juniors will, in 1996, become only one of four ways for students to demonstrate academic readiness. While some expect the change to reduce remedial enrollments, move students through college faster, and improve collaboration between public schools and…

Using S. J. Messick's theoretical work concerning construct validity as a guide, underlying hypotheses for investigation when validating placement test decisions are assessed. Guidelines on validating placement decisions are offered, and the hypotheses and guidelines are applied in a validation study of the Written English Expression Placement…

This monograph on developing and implementing admission testing for prospective teachers includes information on: (1) competency assessment activities in 31 selected states, the basic skills assessed, and time of testing--prior to admission and/or certification; (2) competency test development; (3) competency testing for admission into teacher…

All teacher education students in Texas must pass three minimum competency examinations to be admitted to a teacher education program. The Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST) contains three separate tests in reading, mathematics, and writing. West Texas State University requires all entering freshmen to submit scores from the American College…

An empirical item characteristic curve shows the probability of a correct response as a function of the student's total test score. These curves can be estimated from large-scale pretest data. They enable test developers to select items that discriminate well in the score region where decisions are made. A similar set of curves can be used to…