The reading portion of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) was equated to the reading comprehension subtest of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) using the Rasch Model. Both tests were administered to 366 low achieving fourth grade students. MEAP was treated as both a 95-item test and a 19-item (number of objectives…

Update VI provides an overview of federal and state legislation regarding minimal competency requirements for graduation and promotion as well as state department of education activities and local district programs in this area, from 1975 through June 1, 1977. Twenty-four states had introduced 67 bills related to this topic up to this date. While…

Little is known about the costs of setting up and implementing legislated minimal competency testing (MCT). To estimate the financial obstacles which lie between the idea and its implementation, MCT requirements are viewed from two perspectives. The first, government regulation, views legislated minimal competency requirements as an attempt by the…

Describes 11 effective steps taken by the Duval County (Florida) school board to improve the academic achievement of minority students, as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test. Programs include eliminating social promotion, developing tests of essential skills and minimum skills, involving the family, and helping with personal problems. (IW)

Describes the development of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) tests which predict student success in mathematics on the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) and readiness for college mathematics. Institutions wishing to expand ethnic diversity in teacher education must help minority students prepare for tests like the TASP. (SM)

The "Declaration of Independence" guarantees Americans the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, these rights have not been uniformly available to all citizens. Individuals with disabilities, for example, have received unequal treatment and have been victims of both intentional and unintentional discrimination.…

A holistic analysis of the dropout problem is presented in this collection of essays, which critically examines a variety of research traditions. The book examines the major groups within the dropout population, factors within schools that contribute to dropping out, and the larger social and economic context within which dropping out occurs.…

Public Act 84-126 amended The School Code of Illinois to include a definition of schooling and a requirement that the goals for learning be identified and assessed. This document identifies state goals for language arts education in grades 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12, and includes a sample set of district level learning objectives consistent with those…

Procedures for establishing the cutoff scores for the occupational competency exams administered to individuals graduating from Pennsylvania vocational teacher education programs were reviewed. A total of 595 National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Exams administered in 43 occupations or trades at three colleges between the…

One hundred and three students from the 1985 graduating class of Hightstown (New Jersey) High School took New Jersey's College Basic Skills Placement Test (CBSPT) after entering two-year and four-year colleges in New Jersey. The 103, who represented the entire distribution of class ranks, rated themselves fairly accurately on their abilities in…

The issues of competency testing, standardized testing, and new measures of achievement and competency in college are discussed. Attention is directed to the following questions: what skills and subjects are basic, how can schools enhance and measure competence, and who is responsible for setting higher standards? Considerations of the National…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 19 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effectiveness of English placement examinations used at five junior colleges in California; (2) the direction and distance of context required by college…

The licensure of public school personnel in Tennessee is a function of the State Department of Education (SDE). Additional requirements for this certification function were added by the Comprehensive Education Reform Act (Senate Bill Number 1) of the 1984 Tennessee General Assembly. The Act mandated that the SDE use tests to assess the competence…

Criteria for the selection of judges (evaluators) for setting item-based standards involved in tests for which cutting scores must be established are investigated. Focus is on cases in which test standards are based on specialists' judgments concerning the difficulty of test items in tests used to determine who will be awarded a diploma, admitted…

Proficiency testing, the measurement of what a person can do as a result of learning, is used increasingly in higher education to determine whether students have mastered basic skills or whether they deserve credits for specific courses (which they may not have actually taken). The motivation for proficiency testing stems from general…