The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Form U, is scored in two ways: number-correct and pattern. The latter makes use of the information about which particular items are answered correctly, giving more weight to the more discriminating items and making allowances for guessing. Critics have suggested that black students are penalized by pattern…

The National Consortium on Testing undertook a case study of South Carolina's competency testing program. The Basic Skills Assessment Act (BSAA) passed in 1978 provided for the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP). This program seemed a progressive approach because it is keyed to particular educational objectives. It is being implemented…

Canadian students on the verge of completing their secondary education were tested to determine their proficiency in solving consumer-related mathematics problems that might be frequently encountered in their post-secondary everyday life. Their proficiency was rated as very good in basic computation and use of tables; satisfactory in comparison…

Examined the effects of a tri-schedule (traditional, 4x4 block, and hybrid) schedules running at the same time on the academic achievement of 327 high school students. Discusses implications of findings for schools considering block scheduling. (SLD)

In 1980, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) revised the instruments used to assess basic skills attainment in mathematics and reading of all students in grades 4, 7, and 10. The research summarized in this paper examined the factor structures of the 1979 and 1980 versions of the Grade 10 MEAP mathematics test. These two versions…

The State of Florida has, for several years, been committed to perfecting a workable system of accountability for the public schools. The Florida Statewide Assessment Program, begun in 1971, has been an important element in this accountability effort. The Program was designed to assess students' academic strengths and weaknesses, particularly in…

This report reviews the Elementary Mathematics Testing Project of Alberta, Canada. The program attempted to determine the effectiveness of the elementary mathematics program using tests based on the program objectives. The project was carried out in Northern Alberta (Zone 1) during the 1978-79 school year. The revised mathematics curriculum,…

In the Louisiana Basic Skills Testing (BST) program, initiated in 1982, criterion-referenced tests of language arts and mathematics were administered to all second grade students. Longitudinal data over three years tracked four cohorts of students to address when retention appears to be most effective and whether a combination of repeated…

By 1985, nearly half of the nation's public school students will be required to pass a minimum competency test (MCT) for high school graduation. Supporters of objectives underlying the MCTs suggest that the tests will force school systems to take their responsibilities to all children more seriously. Critics argue that students who fail will…

Reports findings from a national survey of 1,269 representative colleges and universities, concerning institutional perceptions of the basic skills preparation of entering freshmen, the extent of students' needs for basic skills help at various types of institutions, and the ways in which institutions are responding to student needs. (AYC)

Provides information on the New Jersey Basic Skills Assessment Program, focusing on the evaluation of New Jersey colleges' remedial programs, their importance, and future directions. Includes data on attrition rates and mean grade point averages for fall 1982 and students requiring remedial reading in 1982-83. (DMM)

In 1975 California became the first state to offer an "early exit" proficiency test from high school to persons 16 years of age or older (California law normally requires young persons to attend school until they reach 18 or graduate regularly from high school). More than 87,000 persons have passed the early exit examination; a pass rate…

This paper represents a summary statement on an investigation into the area of statewide testing of minimum basic skills conducted last year for the New Jersey Task Force on Competency Indicators and Standards. Survey work and the study of source documents led to the following conclusions: (1) there was no obvious and agreed upon set of employment…

A study was designed to assess the effects of the introduction of a state-mandated minimum competency test (MCT) on students' acquisition of basic and high-level mathematics skills. Subjects of the study were ninth-grade students, all of whom attended the same schools in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, and took the same form of the…

This report presents an analysis and synthesis of student performance data collected through state-mandated testing programs. The common performance areas assessed were basic skills achievement. The unique performance areas assessed were content skills within a particular state. Achievement data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress…