Describes Florida's efforts at instituting statewide item banking and testing program in vocational education. Discusses rationale for statewide testing program and item banking procedure as well as development and coding of items, dissemination of item bank to school districts, and development of statewide test. Outlines problems encountered,…

Testing and accountability programs can lead to some positive changes towards student performance. Here, Jones and Egley explore on whether Florida administrators thought that there was anything that could be done to improve the country's testing program in order to reduce or eliminate the types of concerns raised in George's study by conducting a…

This test administration plan sets forth the terms and conditions governing the administration of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), an instrument designed to measure the achievement of the communication and computation skills expected of all students by the time they complete their sophomore year. CLAST scores are required of all…

Most states do not offer reciprocity for other state assessment tests. That practice has an adverse effect on school-aged, dependent children of military service members. President Clinton's 1997 solution was a national standardized assessment test for public school students. Critics stated it would cost $96,000,000 to deliver the test. Florida…

In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education in the United States issued a report called "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform." This report and other policy initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Legislation recommended that the individual states institute assessments to hold schools accountable.…

This test administration plan sets forth the terms and conditions which govern the administration of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), an instrument designed to measure the achievement of the communication and computation skills expected of all students by the time they complete their sophomore year. CLAST scores are required of all…

Barbara Jordan served as the hearing officer for three-day adversary evaluation hearings about the pros and cons of minimum competency testing (MCT). This report is the complete transcript of the second day of proceedings. The pro team, lead by James Popham, began by presenting representatives of four states (Florida, California, Texas, and…

Reports on a survey of community college faculty chairs and administrators to identify institutional initiatives to enhance student performance on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), assess faculty acceptance of and support for the CLAST mandate, and determine uses of aggregate CLAST scores in formative and summative evaluations. (DMM)

The "Measuring College and Career Readiness" report for each state represents a snapshot of the ACT-tested graduates in the class of 2009 and focuses on their readiness for college and careers. Designed to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness, the report is not intended to be comprehensive but…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Florida elementary school administrators believe the state's testing program is taking public schools in the right direction. Questionnaire responses from principals and assistant principals show that the majority of administrators believe the testing program is not taking schools in the right…

Section 1008.30 (formerly 240.117), Florida Statutes, requires the State Board of Education to develop and implement a common placement testing program to assess the basic computation and communication skills of students who intend to enter a degree program at any public community college or state university. Every year the State provides reports…

Describes a 1975 impact study designed to assess credit by examination as a vehicle for the professional development of a sample of 730 Florida teachers who took part in a 1972 College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) to determine the suitability of CLEP as an admission battery to undergraduate and graduate study in vocational education. (SH)

To find the students who need help, college officials are starting new testing programs, sharing more information with high-school teachers and administrators, and joining with high schools to sponsor special programs for students and teachers. Programs in Ohio, New Jersey, and Florida are described. (MLW)

Proposed an accountably model that addresses the challenges of allowing school districts to choose the specific strategies they use to measure student performance and evaluated this model using data from multiple sources for all school districts in Florida. Findings identify three strategies that would be useful for this type of accountability…

The items of the Florida minimal competency test have never been validated as measures of "survival skills," and the pass/fail standards were set mindlessly and capriciously. (Author/IRT)