Compares the results of the first and second years of testing in the Florida minimum competency program to show that the program is working. (IRT)

The Vermont Basic Competency Program is described, and its assessment results are reported for its second year of implementation. Data were collected on students in Vermont who were born in 1963, who are in the high school class of 1981 (which will be the first class to require mastery of 51 basic competencies for graduation), and who have already…

The conference's keynote address is presented by Bernard C. Watson. Papers include: Vantage from the State Department of Education, by Robert G. Scanlon (Pennsylvania); Minimum Competency: As the Public Sees the Question, by Jacqueline Grennan Wexler; Minimum Competency Testing (MCT): A Tripartite Response from the Profession, by W. James Popham;…

Examines the Oregon program in which each school district establishes and measures its own set of competency standards. (Author/IRT)

Examines the political influences on minimum competency testing in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, and California. (IRT)

This paper describes the response of the Chicago school district to an Illinois State board of education directive that local school districts have an ongoing program of assessing student achievement and educational programs. The minimum competency testing program in place before the directive is discussed. The testing program and the nongraded…

The purpose of the project described in this paper was to develop, publish, and disseminate a model set of oral communication competencies for West Virginia students in kindergarten through grade 12. The first section of the paper discusses the purpose of the project, which was prompted by the growth of the competency movement, and provides some…

All students except the mentally handicapped are required to show by examination that they are able to read, speak, and understand ordinary English; write a simple, correct, intelligible paragraph; and perform with reasonable mastery fundamental mathematical processes. (Author)

A program for regular testing of mathematical skills that provides information and counseling to students as well as necessary study programs for students in need of improvement is described. (JT)

Competency testing for either graduation from high school, or as a method for assessing whether a student should advance to a higher grade level, is the focus of this annotated bibliography. Included are annotations that relate to accountability, competency testing, program descriptions where competency testing is utilized, general testing…

The status of minimum competency testing programs, as of June 30, 1979, is given through descriptions of 31 state programs and 20 local district programs. For each program, the following information is provided: legislative and policy history; implementation phase; goals; competencies to be tested; standards and standard setting; target groups and…

This report describes the Minimum Competencies Assurance Program (Min Comp) conducted in Seattle, Washington, public schools in 1979-80, and presents the results of a survey administered to school principals and program managers to assess the program's operation and effectiveness. Survey results cover several areas including: (1) the…

The key elements to this plan for special education students are keeping a check on student achievement throughout all the grades, communicating with parents about student deficiencies, and requiring competency tests of all high school students. (Author/IRT)

Describes a successful after-school tutoring program that involves teachers, students, and parents, and has resulted in higher scores on both minimum-competency tests and achievement tests. Includes guidelines for starting such a program. (IRT)

This final report describes a coordinated dissemination program that was developed to help provide educational information to the teaching personnel of the Puerto Rico Department of Education. Objectives, problems, accomplishments, and recommendations are included; appendices provide the program's budget, the questionnaire used to assess the needs…