Competency-based testing and credentialing (CBTC) initiatives aim to address inequity in adult education by fundamentally changing how states use GED®, HiSET®, and TASC™ test scores to award and withhold high school equivalency credentials. However, CBTC is inconsistent with how developers intend states to use those scores. Accordingly, it falls…

One of the major functions of large-scale assessment is educational accountability. The expectation for the improvement of instruction based on test results is called "professional accountability" and it is built into provincial assessment policies across Canada. This study asked teachers to self-report on instructional changes they have…

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) provides a framework in which over 80 countries collaborate to build advanced global metrics to assess the knowledge, skills and character attributes of the students. The design of assessments poses major conceptual and technical challenges, as successful learning. Beyond a sound…

This article reveals three emerging areas of conflict in the use of educational assessment instruments in compulsory education in Switzerland and outlines an analytical approach for detecting and analysing these areas of conflict. The approach combines a conceptual perspective, an evaluation perspective and a teaching perspective to show the…

In the current information society, the need for securing human resources acquired with ICT competency is becoming a very important issue. In USA, England, Japan, India and Israel improving students' ICT competency has become a pedagogical issue. Accordingly, education on ICT competency is changing in many countries emphasizing the basis of…

The Nigeria's oil industry has been criticized for some time now for its inability to render adequate services to the general public. This criticism is predicated on the fact that the standards of productivity in their services are low and that their facilities (i.e. the refineries) are not working up to capacity. This is evident in their…

Background/Context: The prevailing theory of action underlying No Child Left Behind's high-stakes testing and accountability ratings is that schools and students held accountable to these measures will automatically increase educational output as educators try harder, schools will adopt more effective methods, and students will learn more. In…

The article examines some of the implications of minimum competency standards and alternative policies for handicapped students. It is concluded that although the alternative of determining policies on an individual basis presents problems in terms of consistency and equity across handicapped students, it still seems to be the best approach. (SBH)

Minimum competency testing in Louisiana emphasizes individual needs (as delineated in the indiviualized education program) regardless of special education classification. Nine format/procedural modifications are allowed on the Basic Skills Test, including braille editions and extended time. Test administration and score reporting may also be…

The article analyzes three policy options in the competency testing of handicapped students: (1) requiring the handicapped to pass a competency test; (2) exempting the handicapped from such tests if their Individualized Education Plan requirements are met; and (3) development of differential competency standards for these students. (Author/DB)

Questions are addressed to the British Secretary of State for Education concerning: conflicts between the national curriculum and testing program and abilities of the disabled, the potential for the increased segregation of emotionally or learning disabled children, and the pattern of special education services 10 years from now. (DB)

Regulation and legislation make the role of the classroom teacher more bureaucratic. Legislators can contribute to the improvement of education by policy analysis and by making teacher salaries more competitive with the alternatives available to competent people. (MLF)

Development of the mathematics functional literacy test (MFLT) is described, issues of predictive and content validity are discussed, and implications for educational policy are presented. Ten basic skill areas identified by the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics were used as the basis for the development of the MFLT. (RL)

Proposals for a British national curriculum and national assessment procedures are discussed in terms of a timetable for implementation, the foundation subjects, relevance of subjects to children's lives, attainment targets and testing, and children with special educational needs. (DB)

A study examining political and economic issues of the teacher certification movement, focusing on how it affects teacher shortages, presents data regarding the impact of the California Basic Education Skills Test on instructional programs at racially isolated schools. (Author/CB)