A critical analysis of reports and empirical literature on the quality of candidates in teacher education programs is presented and the results of a nation-wide survey of basic skills competencies required of such candidates are described. While standardized test scores for education majors have been declining, many states in the survey did not…

In fall 1985, a computerized prerequisite checking system was implemented in the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District (SJ/ECCD) featuring an informational mode, which provides information about whether a student meets a prerequisite, and a lock-out mode, which prevents a student from registering for classes if prerequisites are not met.…

This document consists of extracts from "Numeracy in Papua New Guinea: An Investigation with Particular Reference to the Relationship between Number Skill Teaching and the Use of the Calculator," a doctoral thesis submitted to the Loughborough University of Technology in April 1982. The material is made up of chapters and parts of…

Intended for regular teachers with mildly handicapped learners, the handbook covers techniques for adapting instruction, for compensatory instruction, for remedial instruction, and for teaching basic survival skills. An introduction surveys types of appropriate modifications for mainstreaming. Adaptive techniques discussed include the following:…

This document provides a business education model or set of criteria against which instructional practices in basic and survival skills may be compared. These criteria are valid for business instruction at the 9th- through 12th-grade levels. Section 1 contains the Business Education Survival Skills Matrix. An "x" indicates that 50 percent or more…

This study identified significant predictors of whether or not students completed a self-paced, mastery-oriented arithmetic course. Under varying conditions, a stepwise discrimination procedure identified 11 significant predictors. Precourse arithmetic computation achievement was the best while 7 others related to students' reasons for enrolling…

The author identifies the essentials of an educated person as: basic skills, common learnings (family relationships, social group status, property and trade, government and law, ethnic differences, ethics, sexuality, conflict resolution, and natural phenomena understanding), understanding of leisure time, and career education. (EA)

The validity and dependability of functional competency tests for adults are examined as they relate to the information needs of instructional decision makers. Test data from the Adult Performance Level (APL) Program (funded by the U.S. Office of Education at the University of Texas at Austin) is used to illustrate key points. In the discussion of…

One of the major problems facing the profession of speech communication is the need for an increased concern with teaching the "basics" involved in listening carefully and speaking clearly and with vigor. Speech communication educators must take great care in defining the basics of discourse; they should teach the mechanics of grammar and syntax…

This report presents the results of a 1977 statewide survey designed to determine whether Kentucky's public school teachers feel they are adequately prepared to teach the basic skills and whether they feel adequate time is available to teach the basic skills. Data were gathered through questionnaires distributed to a random stratified sample of…

The widespread availability of pocket electronic calculators raises issues with respect to some goals of the current curriculum and with regard to testing practices. (SD)

Basic fraction concepts are viewed as the seedbed for many important mathematical ideas including the notions of equivalence, inverse, decimals, probability, ratio, and proportion. It is viewed that a critical component of children's mathematical knowledge necessary for success in certain fractional number contexts appears to be intellectual…

Instructors of 41 Navy electronics "C" courses were presented with a list of 70 mathematics skills and asked to indicate: (1) how important they were to successful course performance, and (2) whether required skills were prerequisite to, reviewed in, or taught in the course. Based on results obtained, a mathematical skills test was…

This study investigated the effectiveness of finger mathematics with elementary pupils in second grade. The sample consisted of 56 pupils located in a lower socioeconomic area of Chicago. Half the pupils were taught using the finger method; the other half experienced the traditional textbook paper-and-pencil method. The results indicated that…