Throughout the years, career and technical education (CTE) has focused on teaching technical competencies and related academic skills that prepare students to enter and advance in a variety of career fields and postsecondary education. Program and course descriptions are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that the technical and academic skills…

Since 2012, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has supported educational enrichment in rural areas by awarding over $3.3 million in grants to six outstanding organizations operating in Iowa, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In this report, the authors combine the experiences of these organizations with findings from the…

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has provided over $3.3 million in grants to outstanding providers of educational enrichment in rural areas since 2012. In extensive interviews, rural education experts in our grantee organizations shared their practical knowledge of the best ways to identify academically talented students in rural areas, provide…

Some insights into the development of an eleventh grade test of "adult functional competency" are provided. The evolution of the test from its first mention to its translation into a test item pool is traced. An attempt is made to identify some of the instructional, measurement, and legal implications inherent in various decisions which…

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…

Three conference sessions focused on attempts to implement minimum competency testing programs at various educational levels. In each of the sessions particular attention was paid to planning for the development of a minimum competency testing program; the processes of development, initiation, and interpretation of the results; and difficulties…

Professional assessment organizations almost universally endorse the use of multiple measures for making education decisions. In practice, however, the concept of multiple measures is defined and applied in many different ways, depending on how we answer two questions--What counts as a "measure"? and How are the multiple measures…

Describes New Jersey's coordinated, statewide higher education effort involving mandatory testing, remediation, and evaluation. Reviews the program's history; the role of the New Jersey Basic Skills Council (NJBSC); the Basic Skills Placement Test, which focuses on reading comprehension, sentence sense, math computation, and elementary algebra;…

A faculty member in a predominately black institution in the University System of Georgia critiqued the basic skills examination used as a placement and exit examination for the remedial program. He found that the local committee that developed the test had not defined what "basic skills" are, set priorities, nor specified degrees of…

A professor of physical chemistry sees a sharp decline in math competence among his students and feels the reason is poor testing. How this can be changed is outlined, including a proposal to examine by computer. (Author/MSE)

At a time when governments face the challenges of maintaining competitiveness in a global economy, it is necessary to have high-quality comparative information regarding the fundamental skills of the adult population. Such information can help governments to evaluate policies and design more effective interventions. This article describes a…

Competency assessment is used for diagnostic purposes at the City University of New York (CUNY) Queens College. CUNY had decided that all students admitted after 1987 be tested. In addition, minimum competencies were required after the completion of 60 credits. Queens College chose to use the tests for entering freshmen for placement decisions,…

A comprehensive student basic skills assessment program was developed at St. Louis Community College (SLCC) at Florissant Valley to appraise student readiness to take courses, gather information for counseling and advising, diagnose student problems, and evaluate program efficiency and effectiveness. The steps taken in developing the program were:…

Summarizes the basic skills testing programs of Pennsylvania State University, City University of New York, University System of Georgia, and the state of New Jersey. Discusses the use of test results, remedial courses offered, administration of the programs, and program evaluation. (JM)

Project Basic is a program developed by the Maryland State Department of Education to assure that students attain basic skills in a variety of areas. Two levels of tests are given in grade 7 to monitor progress, and in grades 9 to 12 to determine whether each student has met the state minimum competency level. Students must pass the higher level…