The Department of Education has been under attack by people motivated by the perceived failure of the system to improve educational achievement on the elementary and high school levels or the desire to dramatically reduce spending and waste during troubled economic times. A new program introduced in four states seems to address competency and…

In response to public pressures and a legislative mandate, the State of Arizona began to systematically evaluate prospective teachers while concomitantly requiring a restructuring of the Arizona teacher preparation programs at the college and university level as part of a program entitled the Arizona Performance-Based Teacher Certification…

This paper examines some impacts of basic skills proficiency testing of teachers in Arizona. A discussion of some legal issues involved in teacher proficiency testing is presented. Specific cases are cited which illustrate the fact that the courts have ruled that testing must show "job-relatedness" and a "rational basis for…

In an effort to improve the science education program in the Washington School District (Phoenix, Arizona) the school system focused its efforts in the 1983-84 school year on the development of an activity oriented laboratory science program for grades 4-6. This document describes the plan for implementing that program. The implementation…