According to the Jump$tart Coalition, Oklahoma is one of 24 states to adopt financial education requirements for students (Jump$tart Coalition, 2010). The Passport to Financial Literacy Act of 2007, Oklahoma House Bill 1476, requires Oklahoma students in grades 7 through 12 to fulfill established financial literacy requirements to graduate with a…

The issues and concerns facing Kentucky Career and Technical Teacher Education (KY CTTE), university teacher educators and state department Career and Technical Education (CTE) leaders in providing and preparing the best CTE teachers possible are not unique to Kentucky. In an effort to better understand these issues and concerns a team of state…

A new approach for examining the quality of judgments from standard-setting judges using a Binomial Trials Model (BTM) is presented and illustrated with 26 judges from the Georgia High School Graduation Test. Results suggest that the BTM provides information not available from other methods. (SLD)

The author provides a first-person account of what a citizen group accomplished when they mobilized against the Duval County (Florida) law that raised state graduation requirements for vocational education students. What the group achieved and hopes to achieve in the future is discussed. (CT)

Analyzed a 4-year data set from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the state's required high school test, using effect size as the measure of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Findings show that meeting AYP will be a problem of defining the standard as yearly score fluctuations occur. (SLD)

In response to public demands for better-quality high school graduates and to requirements of No Child Left Behind legislation, states have developed a variety of policies such as high-stakes exit exams and diploma options. Additionally, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, students with disabilities must be…

Discusses the plaintiffs' arguments, the state's responses, and the specific findings in the context of major themes of "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency," which found that the Texas graduation test was valid and reliable and met applicable professional standards, including motive and opportunity to learn. (SLD)

Provides a chronological summary of the evolution of statewide achievement tests in Texas to facilitate understanding of the issues behind the "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency" litigation (1999), which challenged the curricular links of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills and other "opportunity to learn" issues. (SLD)

Two years after the implementation of Florida's Educational Accountability Act, which mandates statewide competency testing in reading, writing, and arithmetic, the author cites the advantages of the program, refutes criticisms of it and reviews the challenge to it in Federal District court, the Debra P. V. Turlington case. (SJL)

Reports on a survey of state assessment directors (100% response rate) in 1994 documenting assessment policies and practices concerning English language learners (ELLs) within state assessment systems. In the 1993-94 school year, 17 states required students to pass one or more content-area tests to receive a diploma, testing ELLs in several ways.…

Five methods of equating minimum-competency tests were compared using the Florida Statewide Student Assessment Test, Part II, for 1984 and 1986. Four of five methods yielded essentially comparable results for the highest scoring 84% of the students. Different lengths of anchor items were compared, using the concurrent item response theory equating…

The New Jersey High School Proficiency Test--a new, more rigorous competency test required for high school graduation in New Jersey--was evaluated for three years of its use. The impact of the state's testing program on curriculum, high school graduation, state compensatory education funding, and district certification is discussed. (SLD)

Issues associated with minimum competency testing are discussed: the national, state, and local context for MCT program development; MCT's potential impact; the use and development of MCT programs; and reactions to the testing programs. Presently, the federal role is described as limited to providing information, research support, and technical…

Describes the Action Plan to Improve Elementary and Secondary Education Results in New York. Discusses new state standards and expectations; coordinated program for grades seven-12; modular curriculum; accountability system; new courses in technology education, home and career skills, and introduction to occupations; and graduation requirements.…

Precedents from litigation on state graduation assessments provide insight into the potential legal arguments challengers may raise with regard to mandated content and performance standards for all students. Clearly documented, fairly administered procedures that adhere to professional recommendations will be the hallmark of defensible standards.…