A national investigation of the impact of basic skills testing on teacher education students and program content and evaluation indicated that students who lack basic skills are being eliminated from programs, faculty are paying more attention to basic skills in their courses, and changes in support activities have occurred due to test results.…

If state certification and other bureaucratic requirements were dropped in favor of a genuine review of the skills of individual teacher candidates, the issue of who should train teachers would be resolved, since only those who successfully educated candidates would survive. (MT)

Explores the role that teacher competency testing has had in reducing the number of Black and Hispanic teachers, discusses related problems facing teacher training institutions and programs, and reviews proposed strategies for enabling historically Black institutions and others to better attract and prepare minorities for the teaching profession.…

Teacher competency testing for the purpose of screening persons prior to state certification continues to be on the upswing in the United States. Many states have implemented paper-pencil tests, most of which were prepared by Educational Testing Service and National Evaluation Systems. Problem areas to consider when certification tests are used to…

All teacher education students in Texas must pass three minimum competency examinations to be admitted to a teacher education program. The Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST) contains three separate tests in reading, mathematics, and writing. West Texas State University requires all entering freshmen to submit scores from the American College…

Legislative and/or state department of education mandates requiring some form of competency assessment of teachers are currently in force in 38 states. An additional seven states report planning activity, and only five states report no plans to test the competency of teachers. Descriptions are given of competency assessment activities in each…

Prospective teachers in many states must pass a competency test prior to receiving an initial teaching certificate. Because of the high stakes associated with them, educator competency tests can play a major role in modifying the nature of teacher training programs. To investigate the nature and extent of such changes, deans and faculty at teacher…

Teacher training institutions should assess the competency level of their graduates so that needed changes in teacher education programs can be made. A model for assessing teacher education graduates and the teacher education program is described. (CJ)

Changes in schools and teacher education programs are interrelated and involve political, economic, social, and educational reforms. This article explores the current situation of the teaching profession and discusses the importance of incentives. (DF)

This paper explains some of the policies, procedures, and standards now in effect as a result of educational reform efforts within the State of South Carolina. Approval of a teacher education program is based on a comprehensive evaluation incorporating the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). An…

During the 1980s Florida has mandated several testing programs to improve the quality of the community college, state university, and teacher education entrants and graduates. Three measures were intended to improve the quality of community college/state university/teacher education students. The College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) program…

Data collected on the Eastern Kentucky University College of Education by the Office of Educational Research and Evaluation for the 1980-81 academic year are presented. Information is included on: (1) basic skills and personality tests; (2) administration of the National Teachers Examination; (3) competency examinations; (4) establishing validity…

Although arbitrary, whenever multiple judgmental standard-setting procedures are utilized by different groups concurrently, stability across raters can be achieved and decisions can be made in a relatively judicious manner. Greater stability across methods (Ebel, Nedelsky, Angoff) may be effected by slightly modifying the Ebel approach. (Author/PN)

This booklet discusses changes taking place in the four major processes involved in preparing and certifying teachers: national accreditation, state program approval, state certification, and teacher preparation. Some of the major issues affecting these processes, such as teacher competency testing and teaching internships, are discussed, and the…

Unless there is a renewed effort by educators to reach a consensus on the meaning of competency in the teaching profession, the promise of the competency based teacher education movement will be as elusive as its terminology. (Authors/CJ)