This paper is part of a series investigating the implementation of competency education. The purpose of the paper is to explore how districts and schools can redesign grading systems to best help students to excel in academics and to gain the skills that are needed to be successful in college, the community, and the workplace. In order to make the…

The "2009 GED[R] Testing Program Statistical Report" is the 52nd annual report in the program's 68-year history of providing a second opportunity for adults without a high school credential to earn their jurisdiction's GED credential. The report provides candidate demographic and GED Test performance statistics as well as historical…

Creating smart, coherent education policy is painstaking work; there are technical, budgetary, and political challenges at almost every turn. But it is some of the most important work that state leaders can undertake. As Ohioans prepared to elect a new governor in late 2018, we at the Fordham Institute began rolling out a set of policy proposals…

The "2007 GED[R] Testing Program Statistical Report" is the 50th annual report in the program's 66-year history of providing a second opportunity for adults without a high school diploma to earn their jurisdiction's GED credential, and, as a result, advance their educational, personal, and professional aspirations. Section I, "Who…

Health and physical education (PE) are low status, marginalised subjects in many schools internationally. However in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere, they are concurrently credentialed and recognised senior high school options in which students can gain national qualifications. In New Zealand these subjects also tend to attract students who…

The 2006 GED[R] Testing Program Statistical Report is the 49th annual report in the program's 65-year history of providing a second opportunity to adults without a high school diploma to earn their jurisdiction's General Educational Development (GED) credential, and, as a result, advance their educational, personal, and professional aspirations.…

Extensive education research on the contribution of teachers to student achievement produces two generally accepted results. First, teacher quality varies substantially as measured by the value added to student achievement or future academic attainment or earnings. Second, variables often used to determine entry into the profession and…

Over the decades, those in education have waged a noble struggle in an attempt to achieve the respect and dignity worthy of their profession. Their social value, their worthiness, and the critical nature of their success, it can be argued, are every bit as significant as that of practicing medicine. Research consistently demonstrates the positive…

The purpose of the analyses reported in this paper was to compare performance on the GED (General Educational Development) Tests, U.S. edition, across three groups of examinees: (a) graduating high school seniors in the GED Tests U.S. 2001 norm group, (b) GED Tests candidates who took one or more tests in the U.S. in 2002-2004, and (c) GED Tests…

We use data on statewide end-of-course tests in North Carolina to examine the relationship between teacher credentials and student achievement at the high school level. The availability of test scores in multiple subjects for each student permits us to estimate a model with student fixed effects, which helps minimize any bias associated with the…

Offers an account of the origins of the Regents examination system in New York providing an assessment of the preliminary examination results from 1866 to 1885 and a description of the development of advanced examinations. Discusses the implications of the New York case for understanding the emergence of credential markets. (CMK)

It is proposed that the dental profession eliminate entry-level clinical state board examinations in favor of licensure based on successful completion of an accredited curriculum and successful completion of Parts I and II of the National Board Examination. A 10-point strategy for accomplishing this goal is outlined. (MSE)

Mounting pressure in the policy arena to improve teacher productivity either by improving signals that predict teacher performance or through creating incentive contracts based on performance--has spurred two related questions: Are there important determinants of teacher productivity that are not captured by teacher credentials but that can be…

Value-added models in education research allow researchers to explore how a wide variety of policies and measured school inputs affect the academic performance of students. Researchers typically quantify the impacts of such interventions in terms of "effect sizes", i.e., the estimated effect of a one standard deviation change in the…

Education names and classifies individuals. This result seems unavoidable. For example, some students will graduate, and some will not. Those who graduate will be "graduates"; those who do not graduate will be labeled otherwise. The only way to avoid such labeling is to fail to make distinctions of any kind. Yet education is rife with…