Alverno College (Wisconsin) defines a curriculum in which all students demonstrate certain major abilities within their disciplines or professional areas, and it assesses those abilities as its primary graduation requirements. The college-wide assessment center has enabled assessment of complex abilities not easily tested through a single course.…

Several projects at the University of Georgia's College of Education provide information for program planning and design. The Diagnostic Teaching Cycle (DTC), which is being used to evaluate the undergraduate program of the Division of Elementary Education, has five components: identify, hypothesize, formulate goals and objectives, instruct and…

The National Teacher Examinations (NTE), were first administered in 1940. Teacher examinations had existed in the United States since colonial New England. During the late 1920's, intelligence tests became popular; teaching aptitude, subject matter competence, and knowledge of testing were also measured. In 1931, a cooperative program of the…

A project was undertaken to develop a catalog of professional and technical competencies needed by a teacher to teach all areas of industrial arts given in the Texas State Board of Education-approved revised curriculum as well as to define and recommend guidelines for implementation of competency testing for industrial arts. Following a research…

The public's reasons for encouraging the competency testing of teachers are discussed, as well as arguments against teacher testing. Testing activities or considered legislation in Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arizona, Wisconsin, and New York are briefly…

An annotated bibliography on minimum competency testing is arranged by subtopics: overview; basic skills; compensatory education; competencies; cost effectiveness; curriculum; district programs; graduation requirements; handicapped students; legal aspects; readiness; reading; writing; state programs; teacher education; tests; math; and testing.…

Trends in teacher competency testing, test bias against minority group teachers, and ways to encourage qualified personnel to join the teaching profession are discussed. Currently, 21 states require students to pass a test to enter a teacher education program, and 31 require teacher candidates to pass a certification test. Admission tests include…