This article describes results for students with mild disabilities who participated in the Kansas science assessment involving cooperative groups. Individual achievement, attitude, and project scores were consistent with expectations in relation to results for general education students. The study did not find that participation of students with…

Australian research into competency-based training and assessment is very thin and theoretical discussion is often superficial. One curious feature in the Australian debate is the belief by many that competency-based training is possible without competency-based assessment. Definitions are being debated. In a longitudinal study, researchers have…

A study was conducted at a Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to determine the relationship between students' level of basic skills at entry and their pass/fail performance on the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). Specifically, the study focused on students' Comparative Guidance and Placement Test (CGP) scores in reading, writing, and…

The result of a two-year effort by more than 150 community college faculty and staff members in Hawaii, this report presents task force recommendations for improving programs leading to the associate degree. The recommendations concern: (1) the maintenance of two associate degrees, an associate in arts and an associate in science; (2) the…

Thirteen alternatives to using competency based tests should be considered when diagnosing student competency in writing: teacher-made or departmental tests, teacher-student conferences, contractual grade agreements between student and teacher, student self-evaluation, individualized goal setting, keeping files or portfolios of student work,…

This report examines the assessment of competence in nursing and midwifery education in Britain within a context of changes in health needs, values about health care and service provision, policy/ideology, and education. Chapter 1 explores alternative approaches to conceptualizing the issues involved in the study of assessment, competence, and…

A major initiative in Australia is a general and pervasive obsession with competency-based training and assessment. There is a real danger that the selling of competency-based training (CBT) and competency-based assessment (CBA) is greater than what it can offer. One criticism focuses on CBT, the other on CBA, although in most instances where CBT…

Developed for the Duval County Public Schools (Jacksonville, Florida), this manual gives elementary school teachers information on instructional program procedures. Section one is about the reading program and deals with placement procedures and criteria for kindergarten and first grade students, initial placement procedures for grades two-six,…

Content, instructional, and curricular validity, as related to certification tests, are examined. All three deal with content validity but the domain differs among the the three. Certification tests must have instructional validity, i.e., the test must be valid both with respect to the domain used to define the minimum competencies and the…

This handbook was designed as a referenced guide to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) testing program. Many year-round schools have been created in the district. This has necessitated adjustments in the testing schedule so that all LAUSD students are tested in the same time frame in their educational programs. The handbook was…

Guidelines for setting performance standards for minimum competency testing are suggested. Because qualitative judgments are involved, certain options should be considered, such as periodic reviews and necessary revisions of standards; use of experience-based rather than arbitrary standards; and thorough consideration of standards, even if the…

Addressing the issue of testing and evaluation in English at the university level, this paper focuses on the development and use of the English Placement Test developed by the California State University system. The discussion of this testing program is placed within a framework of four testing principles: testing is an essential part of learning…

This report discusses the results of the College Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) at the College of DuPage (Illinois). The CAAP is a national exam that assesses general learning in six areas: critical thinking, science reasoning, writing skills, essay writing, reading, and mathematics. Based on data from a total of 3,322 students tested…

A brief overview of trends in assessment in psychology degrees is presented. Both natural evolutionary changes in education and external, professionally-based forces have exerted considerable influence upon both the psychology curriculum and the methods of assessment to which psychology students have been subjected. (MLW)

Examines factors contributing to increasing acceptance of and dependence on state and local educational testing. Factors examined include the accountability movement, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, National Assessment of Educational Progress, growth in statewide and local assessment, and minimum competency testing. (SM)