Mastery of sixteen "life skills" tasks will be a Seattle Public Schools graduation requirement beginning in 1981. Five forms of the Minimum Competencies Performance Test, which will be used to measure mastery of those tasks, are presently being developed and field tested. This report presents the results of the analysis of the first…

Reported research and analysis concerning competency tests required for high school graduation and concerning dropping out of school point to ambiguous hypotheses about the effects of graduation tests on early school leaving. A review of the literature indicates the existence of data on the process nature of dropping out, the centrality of…

Two years after the implementation of Florida's Educational Accountability Act, which mandates statewide competency testing in reading, writing, and arithmetic, the author cites the advantages of the program, refutes criticisms of it and reviews the challenge to it in Federal District court, the Debra P. V. Turlington case. (SJL)

This article discusses the fairness and legality of competency testing programs for the handicapped. The following concerns are addressed: (1) exemptions for handicapped students; (2) individual determinations; (3) differential diplomas and standards; and (4) differential assessment procedures. A discussion of the legal implications indicates…

This article discusses the potential for discrimination inherent in competency-based testing and suggests some provisions which might be included in a fair competency-based program. Discussed are: (1) racial discrimination; (2) inadequate phase-in periods; (3) tests which are not reliable or have not been validated; (4) inadequate matching of the…

A model depicting dropping out of high school as a process is presented. Against a longitudinal mapping of student experiences, questions about standards or exit tests are addressed. Existing research on dropouts provided the empirical basis for the model. The central features of the model are the academic and social systems of the school.…

This brief report states that legal problems with competency testing have been more procedural than substantive-more concerned with implementation than legitimacy. The right to notice is the most straight-forward and firmly established principle to emerge from competency testing litigation. Students must have fair warning and opportunity to…

In 1978, Florida was sued by 11 Black students on the grounds that its functional literacy requirement violated due process. This article summarizes the arguments in the case. The initial decision to retain the test after a four-year delay was appealed, but was subsequently upheld by the State's Appeals Court. (CJM)

This paper contains a comparison of descriptive information based on analyses of pilot and live administrations of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE). The test is composed of three subject tests: Reading, Mathematics, and Language. The study was intended to validate the test development procedure by comparing difficulty levels…

There is no current evidence that Minimum Competency Testing (MCT) used to deny high school diplomas has enhanced equal educational opportunities for minority students. Test results, largely indicate that MCT requirements impact disproportionately on black students. Black students' scores may reflect a long history of racial discrimination in the…

After studying the testing and remedial programs used in Florida's public schools, the Task Force on Educational Assessment Programs presented its findings and recommendations. Findings are reported regarding: the schedule for implementing the testing program (which requires that students pass the Functional Literacy Test before they may graduate…

Most of the arguments lodged against minimum competency testing are really observations about the abuses of testing. Blacks and other minority groups are understandably mistrustful of recent developments in minimum competency testing--possible grounds for legal challenges include the adequacy of the phase-in periods; the match between tests and…

Legal issues of minimum competency testing derive from federal and state constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, and from common law. Constitutional provisions for equal protection, due process, and freedom of belief and privacy, are primarily federal; education provisions are state mandated. Only four court cases have directly…

New minimum high school graduation standards were mandated for 1978-79 graduates, by Florida's Educational Accountability Act of 1976. Requirements included mastery of basic skills, completion of minimum course credits, and satisfactory performance on functional literacy tests. The literacy test was the primary criterion for graduation. On its…