For fear of blaming the victims, educators have been reluctant to endorse strategies requiring hard work from students as a condition for learning. U.S. students are working far below their potential because they experience no reason to do otherwise. The United States one of the rare developed nations without a high-stakes exit examination for…

Supports "The Ohio Literacy Initiative" (a document the Ohio Department of Education developed as a resource for districts interested in designing and implementing an effective, comprehensive literacy framework) as it calls for community efforts to help districts attain and support confident and articulate readers and writers. (NH)

This study analyzed documentation from 50 state departments of education concerning high school graduation requirements for students in general and for students with disabilities. Preliminary information reviews research on graduation requirements, research on minimum competence tests, and legal issues and implications. Study findings are then…

Data from 202 out of 311 surveyed school districts in Arkansas were collected to assess the congruence of course content guides, developed under administrative mandate by the school districts, with associated parental reporting forms. The guides outline skills associated with three instructional/skill levels--basic, developmental, and…

There have been changes in approaches in certifying public school teachers, but when viewed in historical perspective, these have been changes in degree rather than changes in kind. This paper charts the history of certification/licensure and teacher testing to facilitate better understanding of the issue. The second task is to show the influence…

Competency assessment is used for diagnostic purposes at the City University of New York (CUNY) Queens College. CUNY had decided that all students admitted after 1987 be tested. In addition, minimum competencies were required after the completion of 60 credits. Queens College chose to use the tests for entering freshmen for placement decisions,…

The educational reform movement has brought a mandate to test prospective teachers from training entry through exit and certification. Concentrating upon recent literature, this report explores current trends and policies in teacher testing. A review of what tests measure and how tests are being used is included. The negative impact of testing on…

The Illinois Dissemination Research Project developed a public information brochure on Minimal Competency Testing for distribution to Illinois school boards, teachers and administrators. This method for transmitting research findings to policymaking audiences is called "targeted dissemination." It consists of: (1) translating relevant…

Specific steps for applying the Angoff method are described. In the Angoff method, judges are asked to estimate the probabilities of minimally competent candidates' answering multiple choice test items correctly. Initial information must be obtained for designing the standard-setting process, beginning with the purpose of the examination and any…

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) requires that all graduates have skills in reading and mathematics equivalent to a ninth-grade level or above (based on scores on the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills). Of the 3,152 high school graduates in 1983-84, the percentage who met AISD's minimum competency requirement was 91 percent in reading,…

An investigation of the effect on the difficulty value of an item due to position placement within a test was made. Using a 60-item operational test comprised of 5 subtests, 60 items were placed as experimental items on a number of spiralled test forms in three different positions (first, middle, last) within the subtest composed of like items.…

This manual outlines specific guidelines for testing students for Education Consolidation Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 eligibility in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District in 1985-86. Section 1 states that all students in Chapter 1 schools must be tested annually and must score at or below the 30th percentile for their grade level to…

Concern about the preparation and competence of teachers has brought about a rapid spread of teacher competency assessment programs. Currently, 36 states test or plan to test teachers prior to certification. Two states, Arkansas and Texas, are already involved with testing teachers in service. Teacher competency testing has become embroiled in…

The results are presented of district-wide standardized testing in the Irving (Texas) Independent School District for the 1985-86 school year. This was the first year in which the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) was implemented. It was administered to students in odd-numbered grades, whereas all other students took the…

The National Consortium on Testing undertook a case study of South Carolina's competency testing program. The Basic Skills Assessment Act (BSAA) passed in 1978 provided for the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP). This program seemed a progressive approach because it is keyed to particular educational objectives. It is being implemented…