During the last decade many school systems began to define minimum levels of competency for their students and to construct tests to measure whether students had achieved these minimums. Many states have passed laws which require high school students to pass minimum competency tests in order to graduate. This digest overviews four areas of…

This digest examines the tenets of outcome-based education (OBE), outlines some of its primary criticisms and challenges, and describes successful OBE models implemented in various school districts. Outcome-based education (OBE) is one model for restructuring currently being examined nationwide. In contrast to traditional educational practices…

Assessment and accountability have played prominent roles in many reform efforts during the past 50 years. This digest reviews features of assessment and accountability that influence the trustworthiness of information provided and impacts educational practices and student learning. It discusses reform based on assessment and accountability,…

Educational accountability is central to the reputation of the nation's community colleges. Some community colleges are adopting mastery learning, competency-based education, curriculum tracking, and/or minimum competency-testing as a means of remaining educationally accountable. Mastery learning programs, under which students are required to…

The National Education Goals Panel has not met its goal of having every adult American literate by the year 2000. There are many adults who "slipped through the cracks," and have only rudimentary reading and writing skills. The large number of foreign born residents who do not have the necessary reading and writing skills to communicate…