The Oregon State Board of Education has rejected the use of cut-off scores on a proficiency test to establish minimum performance standards for high school graduation. Instead, each school district is required to specify--by local board adoption--minimum competencies in reading, writing, listening, speaking, analyzing, and computing. These…

An overview of the nature, benefits, and steps involved in Colorado's Guaranteed Graduate Program, a process that assures that high school graduates have the knowledge and skills considered essential for entry into employment and postsecondary education, begins this document. A discussion of the portfolio process follows, along with descriptions…

This booklet describes a number of activities initiated in the State of New Jersey to improve academic standards and to help teachers prepare their students for taking New Jersey's High School Proficiency Test (HSPT). The HSPT, administered to all public school ninth graders, is more demanding than the previously used Minimum Basic Skills Test.…