Competency-based testing and credentialing (CBTC) initiatives aim to address inequity in adult education by fundamentally changing how states use GED®, HiSET®, and TASC™ test scores to award and withhold high school equivalency credentials. However, CBTC is inconsistent with how developers intend states to use those scores. Accordingly, it falls…

Reviews five recent titles concerning minimum competency testing in the schools. (SJL)

This monograph briefly describes state legislation and administrative rules concerning competency-based education. Defeated legislation is also included. In 1978-79 California, Nevada, and New York are requiring graduating seniors to pass a proficiency exam before receiving a diploma. In Nevada and New York similar exams are administered to…

Due to the current legislative trend toward competency-based education, and the accompanying minimal competency testing, a variety of local school districts and state education agencies are concurrently developing programs to meet the standards set by their state's legislation. This selective bibliography was compiled in order to aid those…

Describes what is happening in California regarding minimum competency testing and what the counselor's role will be in this area. (Author)

This bulletin contains general information about the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations Program in Alberta, Canada. All twelfth graders must write at least one diploma examination to receive a high school diploma. The examination certifies academic achievement in English 30 and 33, Social Studies 30, Mathematics 30, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, Physics…

The Iowa Norming Study determined how well graduating high school seniors (N=722) performed on the revised 1988 Tests of General Educational Development (GED), providing the data to describe and evaluate the score requirements for GED Test candidates in terms of the percentage of Iowa high school graduates a GED Test candidate must exceed to…

The College Outcome Measures Project (COMP) was organized to design, develop, validate, and disseminate assessment instruments and procedures to measure and evaluate the knowledge and skills that undergraduate students are expected to acquire as a result of general or liberal education programs, as well as those important to effective functioning…

After reviewing three current approaches to handling students who fail to meet minimum competency standards, the author proposes a new approach to minimum competency testing. The three common reactions are: (1) doing nothing to help failing students; (2) denying students their high school diplomas; and (3) requiring students to take remedial…

Components of the Proficiency Testing System (PTS) designed for the Central Valley School District, Washington, are described. Components are: (1) progress assessment, consisting of norm referenced tests, writing samples, diagnostic tests, and ability checklists; (2) user assistance, including an objectives manual, inservice workshop, and a…

The origins, accomplishments, problems, and implications of competence-based reforms in higher education are examined. Competence-based education is defined as that form of education that derives a curriculum from an analysis of a prospective or actual role in modern society and that attempts to certify student progress on the bases of…

One hundred and three students from the 1985 graduating class of Hightstown (New Jersey) High School took New Jersey's College Basic Skills Placement Test (CBSPT) after entering two-year and four-year colleges in New Jersey. The 103, who represented the entire distribution of class ranks, rated themselves fairly accurately on their abilities in…

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…

Minimim standards and basic skills assessment activities at the federal, state, and local school district level, as of September 1977, are summarized, indicating the broad range and variety that exists nationwide. Minimal competency testing is mandated by law in eleven states: California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New…