Many Pennsylvania colleges and universities require that teacher candidates pass a standardized assessment in order to gain formal entry in to their education programs. Standardized tests are also required for Level I teacher certification within Pennsylvania. The initial assessment required of all Pennsylvania preservice teachers for…

The system of competency tests used by the University of Georgia System is examined. Arguments for and against the tests developed by the state board of regents are presented, and the issue of racial discrimination is also addressed. (JMF)

Presents a history of higher education in Jordan and describes the kingdom's community college system. Details the system's development and its academic programs. Summarizes major concerns, including the comprehensive exit examination, remediation, community service, and unemployment of graduates. Points to articulation as the colleges' most…

The result of both discussions and individual papers by members of the Intersegmental Committee on Writing Skills of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, this position paper proposes a possible, intersegmental solution to the problem of the inadequacy of student writing skills. After presenting background information on the problem,…

The DATAWave is a weekly publication of the Assessment Resource Office of Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Its purpose is to inform the campus community and broader constituencies about assessment issues and practice at ENMU. The issues of this first volume cover the following assessment topics: (1) introduction to the newsletter and report…

College-level assessment efforts in New Jersey are described. For more than a dozen years, students in public colleges and universities in New Jersey have been assessed using a common statewide instrument, the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. This test assesses reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering college students as…

Proficiency testing, the measurement of what a person can do as a result of learning, is used increasingly in higher education to determine whether students have mastered basic skills or whether they deserve credits for specific courses (which they may not have actually taken). The motivation for proficiency testing stems from general…