In reviewing the Army Continuing Education System in 1979, the Assistant Secretary of the Army found a basic skills program based on traditional academic level goals was inadequate to meet the Army's requirement to provide functional, job-related basic skill education. Combining the shrinking manpower pool and projected basic skill deficiencies of…

The article focuses on a practical prioritization process as a method to bridge the gap between assessment and planning of individualized education programs for severely handicapped students. This prioritization process is based upon a set of criteria agreed to by planning teams which include educators, related service personnel, and families.…

A workship program, designed as a noncredit adjunct to composition classes, was developed in order to serve the individual needs of college students. Close communication between regular course instructors and workshop staff was maintained, and the attempt was made to substitute a developmental philosophy of learning for the usual connotation of…

The college of education at a midwestern university has designed a program for training senior citizen volunteers to tutor elementary school students in reading and language arts. Development of the Time Of Our Lives for Service (T. O. O. L. S.) program included establishing goals and objectives for the program that were subject to administrative…

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:…

The report presents a framework for the application of a curriculum model to computer programs designed for special education students, specifically slow learners and learning disabled students in regular and special education classes. The program content includes selected basic skills instructional components that are transferable to a computer.…

An overview of the Essential Skills Program at the National Institute of Education is presented in this paper. The paper is divided into three parts. In outline form, the first part of the paper describes the history of the program since its formation in December 1973. Also included in the first part is a short discussion of a number of the major…

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…

This study investigates the impact of activities done in the basic education sub-sector by a consortium of four non-government organizations in four provinces in Afghanistan from January 2004 to June 2005. The evaluation uses the project objectives and components as the evaluation framework, and data collected through survey questionnaires,…

The need for colleges to develop critical thinking skills in mainstream courses is emerging as an issue of national significance. Students benefit from clearly articulated and pedagogically sound courses that directly and explicitly teach thinking skills, as well as from efforts to reinforce these abilities across the curriculum. At LaGuardia…

In 1981, the Faculty Senate, at an upper division midwestern university, initiated the consideration of a literate skills testing program to address variance in academic level of the entering undergraduate student. The policy stipulated that all undergraduate students admitted to a degree program must demonstrate competency in writing and…

The development and implementation of the Dallas Independent School District's Basic Objectives Assessment Test (BOAT) are described. Beginning in 1979, this minimum competency test was administered system-wide to all students in grades 8-12 (except for those enrolled as special education students), and beginning in 1983 it will be used in…

The purpose of this study was to survey alternative schools to determine what their English programs are like, what kinds of problems and successes have been encountered by their English teachers, and what suggestions they have for others who encounter similar problems. Questionnaires were sent to administrators and English teachers in a number of…

Discusses seven stereotypical views concerning the history of federal involvement in elementary and secondary education. Examines federal intervention after World War II; origination of federal programs; the National Defense Education Act; basic skills education; federal aid to precollegiate education; federal pressure for desegregation; and…

Competency testing in New York State began in the nineteenth century, first with a local testing mandate and later with the "preliminary Regents examinations," which were administered at the end of the eighth grade. Optional competency tests were introduced in 1962, and in 1976 the Board of Regents mandated the passing of a series of…