There can be no denying the influence of competencies on the development of the school and its curricula. It is increasingly the case that, to enrol in a socio-economic fabric, whether locally or globally, learners--male or female--must learn to place their knowledge and know-how at the service of action: they must be able to deal with complex…

Early in the twentieth century, the industrialist Andrew Carnegie established the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to create a pension system for the nation's college professors. The introduction of this pension system proved an ingenious educational reform. At the time, American higher education was a largely ill-defined…

This research examines the practices used in assessing students' competencies in the European Higher Education Area. The main objective is to describe the current situation in the Spanish universities, concentrating upon the following questions: what are the most common assessment practices used by academics; how do university academics evaluate…

Universidade Aberta (UAb), being a distance teaching university, is particularly suited to tackle some of the recommendations concerning the assurance of accessibility to education expressed in the "Education and Training 2010" goals. Meanwhile, the University's strategic plan for 2006/2010 decided to implement a fully virtual innovative…

Criterion referenced testing and methods of setting standards are presented as politically motivated rather than supporting any technological advance in education. (RAO)

The case for criterion-referenced measurement is discussed versus the conventional norm-referenced grading methods. (Author/BP)

Argues that the concepts of competency and performance must be separated. Contends that a student's actual competency level is not accurately reflected through standard performance measurements. Demonstrates how competency levels might be assessed more accurately through the use of multiple sources of data and innovative assessment programs. (BSR)

This report reflects experiences in the development of new conceptual frameworks for defining learning outcomes that are most desirable for effective life preparation and that emphasize the way people process and integrate information rather than how well people merely store and retrieve information. These new measures, for use in institutions of…

This document reports efforts to address some of the problems of competency-based assessment by developing and utilizing unique measures of competence. Seven conceptual guidelines are identified for test development and utilization: (1) new competencies must be identified and operationally defined; (2) new competencies should have general…

This guide is intended to assist Private Industry Council (PIC) members in developing competency standards for youth programs receiving Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) funds. Discussed first are the benefits of competency standards to PICs and service delivery areas (SDAs). The various components of program standards (types of skills, skill…

This plan for the longitudinal evaluation of a group of five different kinds of preschool programs involves a project conducted in a predominantly disadvantaged Australian community over the period 1975-79. Main project goals are (1) the determination of conditions under which particular preschool programs are most effective and (2) the evaluation…

This newsletter reports on the activities of Equipped for the Future (EFF), which is a National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) initiative that develops content standards to ensure that every adult can gain the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill real-world responsibilities as workers, parents, and citizens. A message from the NIFL…