The author outlines thinking skills he feels are critical for students to learn for the present and the future. He includes a rating scale to help teachers evaluate how well they are promoting these thinking skills in their classrooms. (Part of a theme issue on the future in education.) (SJL)

Alternative mathematical models for scoring and decision making with criterion referenced tests are described, especially as they concern appropriate test length and methods of establishing statistically valid cutting scores. Several of these approaches are reviewed and compared on formal-analytic and empirical grounds: (1) Block's approach to…

A qualitative case study involving five educational institutions assessed the use of competency testing as a prerequisite for high school graduation, criterion for admission into college, criterion for teacher certification, and statewide assessment tool. Focus was on persons and processes involved in setting educational standards associated with…

This document reports on the results of a three-year series of studies of the development and implementation of statewide pupil proficiency standards in New Jersey, set in response to the passage of Chapter 97, New Jersey Public Laws of 1976. The first section of the report summarizes a survey of statewide minimum pupil proficiency standards in…