This technical report provides an overview of the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA), including a description of the purpose of the NYSAA, the processes utilized to develop and implement the NYSAA program, and Stakeholder involvement in those processes. The purpose of this report is to document the technical aspects of the 2013-14 NYSAA.…

Legislation enacted to attain educational accountability is discussed. At present, 23 states have such enactments. The major kinds of accountability enacted in each of these states are one or more of the following: PPBS, MIS, Uniform Accounting, Testing, Evaluation of Professional Employees, and Performance Contracting. The three most frequently…

Accountability and assessment are critical components to the success of schools today. As leaders of school districts, superintendents in Texas and across the nation are faced daily with meeting this challenge. While doing so, they must remember that their priority commitment is not to testing programs, but to helping children achieve.…

Provides an overview of state-mandated minimum competency testing programs. Describes the potential impact of competency testing on the school counselor. Proposes actions counselors might take to protect student well-being and counselor functions from misdirected regulation. (RC)

When the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) was mandated in Florida, a schedule of incremental increases in the required passing scores was legislated. The 1986 passing standards were scheduled to be increased in 1989. This change was projected to reduce by half the number of students admitted to upper-level status at Florida's colleges. A…

Minimal competency testing is the most recent evolution of the accountability movement and of the competency based education movement. It focuses on the basic academic skills of reading, writing, and arithemtic. It presumes the state will set educational objectives, and that the local school district will conduct its program so that the objectives…

Examines the impact of mandatory statewide implementation of increased standards with the enactment of Florida's Recognizing Achievement in Secondary Education Bill as evidenced by performance on standardized entry-level tests for community college students. Finds little improvement in academic preparation as measured by test scores. (DMM)

The Baltimore City Public School System's (BCPSS) Grade 9 Transition Program was implemented in 2001-02. It is designed to increase student achievement in an era of No Child Left Behind federal legislation by providing additional time and learning opportunities for eighth-grade students who have not met all promotion standards established by the…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) was established by South Carolina legislation enacted in 1978. This report describes BSAP implementation and test results for 1984-85 as prescribed in the legislation. As the schedule for this academic year required, the Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB) was administered to all…

The California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) allows a 16-or-17 year old who passes it to leave school as early as age 16, with parental permission, earning the legal equivalent of a diploma. The exam focuses on basic reading and computing skills. In this study, a variety of findings are reported. School districts have a budgetary…

Three documents related to the passage of Public Law 102-62 are presented. The first document is the House of Representatives Report 102-104, a report of the Committee on Education and Labor regarding the establishment of a National Council on Education Standards and Testing. The Council would be established to determine whether standards for…

This document contains testimony, prepared statements, letters, and supplemental materials submitted during two days of hearings held in September, 1977. Under consideration was a bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require state educational agencies to establish basic standards of educational proficiency applicable…

The first part of this report is a question-and-answer survey of minimum competency legislation, testing programs, and remedial programs. It includes the questions of both the educator and the lay person. Topics include: minimum competency tests, the debate over minimum competency programs, what happens after testing, and what citizens should look…

Florida state legislation has mandated the evaluation of its compensatory education programs. The Florida Accountability Act of 1976 called for minimum basic skills testing in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 (subsequently amended to grade 10). In 1977, the Florida Compensatory Education Act mandated remedial programs for students performing below the…

Minimim standards and basic skills assessment activities at the federal, state, and local school district level, as of September 1977, are summarized, indicating the broad range and variety that exists nationwide. Minimal competency testing is mandated by law in eleven states: California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New…