This paper discusses the legal implications inherent in the competency or proficiency testing issue. Competency testing is designed to respond to the public demand for accountability by placing responsibility on the educational organization, versus the learner, to assure that students no longer leave high school functionally illiterate. Following…

California Assembly Bill 3408 requires school districts to adopt their own standards in basic skills, including reading comprehension, writing, and computation. Students must be tested at least once in grades 7-9 and twice in grades 10-11. After June, 1980, students who do not meet standards will not receive a high school diploma. Assembly Bill…

Examines the ineffectiveness of common law action in negligence suits and the effectiveness of state legislation to eliminate educational malpractice and functional illiteracy. Suggests alternative ways to prove educational malpractice. Available from New England Law Review, 126 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116. (IRT)

To comply with official state regulations, public school districts in Massachusetts must establish minimum standards for reading, mathematics and writing by September 1980, and for listening and speaking by September 1981. The standards must apply to three grade levels: early elementary, late elementary, and secondary. Parents, teachers,…

Competency testing legislation is the result of citizen pressure and lacks the benefit of careful deliberation by professionals. Hastily passed legislation has forced state departments of education and school districts to accept their duty to implement competency testing programs without the appropriate resources. Many of the basic problems of…

Reviews state requirements for minimum competency testing and discusses past and potential future challenges to such testing. Offers possible solutions. (MD)

Examines issues of curricular and instructional validity, criticism of diploma-sanctioned tests, teaching the test, and the role of the courts in new solutions. Contends diploma tests may ensure that students are given the opportunity to learn those skills essential to becoming a productive member of society. (209 references) (MLF)

Minimum competency testing programs may discriminate against handicapped students. Action must be taken, this article warns, to assure that such programs do not emerge as an exclusionary practice that will require years to overcome. (Author)

Issues of state control over private schools are expected to center primarily over the questions of literacy testing of students and minimum competency testing of teachers. Available from Headmaster U.S.A., Post Office Box 21587, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33335; sc $4.00. (Author/MLF)

Legal decisions from the past 20 years that have been influential on the direction of the competency-based and teacher certification testing movement are described. Suggestions for test developers are made to guide them in developing tests that are fair and that comply with legal precedents. (JL)

This "final" list of 16 core competencies for instructional/training development professionals was developed over a three-year period by a special task force appointed by the Board of Directors of the Division of Instructional Development within the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (Author)

Investigates the viability of a negligence action for inadequate public school education. Explores the problems inherent in proving each element of negligence, the available defense, and the potential consequences for plaintiffs, defendants, and educational policy-making that would flow from judicial recognition of a cause of action. Journal…

This guide outlines the minimum standards for entrance into the fire prevention career field in California. It contains descriptions of 50 tasks. Each task description consists of nine subsections. The task title briefly identifies the content of the task. The occupational analysis subsection identifies the block, unit, and task within the…

The New Jersey law permitting a period of silence in schools was struck down by a federal court judge who held that the law was intended to circumvent the proscription against government entanglement in religion. The New York Supreme Court has upheld the competency test for obtaining high school diplomas. (MLF)

The paper sets forth New Jersey high school graduation standards, including the exceptions for special education and limited English proficiency students. General requirements are described under three topic headings (sample subtopics in parentheses): (1) statewide basic skills requirements (the formulation of the Individual Student Improvement…