The Vermont State Board of Education is required to approve competencies for each vocational program. This has resulted in a comprehensive, broad-based approach that can readily be adapted by local schools. Instructors' committees draft curriculum that reflects core competencies for entry-level employment in a given occupational area. (JOW)

Legislation dealing with competency testing in general falls into the following categories: (1) mandating uniform statewide minimum competency testing, to which high school diplomas and/or grade promotion is related; (2) mandating uniform statewide minimum competency testing to be used for improvement of instruction but not tied to grade promotion…

Comments on state legislative intervention in curriculum during the past decade. Discusses attempts to establish minimum competency testing and legislative mandates regarding subjects and minimum instructional time. Addresses back-to-basics and saleable skills issues and reviews a Presidential Advisory Committee report with a discussion of…

Intended to help Arkansas schools implement its 1980 State Basic Skills Improvement Plan, this booklet identifies basic skills to be measured by the state and makes suggestions for incorporating these skills into the curriculum. The first section explains the Educational Assessment Act of 1979 establishing a statewide basic skills assessment…

Three areas of concern for those considering competency-based graduation requirements are discussed. First, what is involved in implementing a competency-based graduation requirement? The first tasks are the specification of performance standards and the performance skill areas. Then, appropriate certification procedures can be selected, and their…