Minimal competency testing of students can be an effective tool for improving educational quality if applied appropriately with adequate safeguards. The failure of academic standards through grade inflation, a policy of social promotion rather than academic promotion, and weak curricula has reduced public confidence in education and encouraged…

This study investigated the feasibility of the use of the three-parameter item response theory (IRT) model in Florida's minimum competency testing program. The paper includes the following sections: (1) a description of the procedures currently being used by the assessment program, with an emphasis on procedures currently involving the Rasch…

Designed to be a tool for curriculum and instructional development consistent with assessment of the state objectives in reading, this teaching and testing guide provides a summary of the skills that should be considered instructionally and how each objective is tested. Information is included on state objectives for reading teachers for grades 4,…

A teacher certification testing program was mandated by the 1980 Oklahoma Legislature in HB 1706. The bill calls for a general upgrading of the teaching profession through more stringent teacher preparation programs, uniformity of training, and a concomitant improvement of salaries to reflect the healthy economy of Oklahoma. A central focus of the…

The Arkansas Educational Assessment Program (AEAP) was initiated in 1979 when the Arkansas legislature passed Act 666, the Education Assessment Act. AEAP provides meaningful data on student achievements to educators, legislators, parents and citizens on the status and progress of Arkansas basic skills education. This information assists schools in…

This manual is written for the individual responsible for choosing the passing score on an educational or occupational test. It concentrates on practical advice to help select and apply a method for choosing the passing score. Decisions, standards, and judgments are defined and discussed in terms of considerations in choosing a passing score…

Based upon prior research in the College of Business and Public Administration and the first year of the university testing program at an upper division, midwestern university, implications for testing of older transfer students are drawn. Students should be tested before, or during, their first term of academic history. If remediation is not…

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the context and process by which the Board adopted a policy, came to question that policy, and ultimately rescinded that policy, while maintaining legitimacy within its environment. In 1977, the Board of Directors of a large urban school district adopted a policy establishing successful…

The Basic Skills Testing program in Louisiana was implemented due to a legislative mandate for minimum competency testing. The program began in grade two, adding a grade each year through grade twelve. Basic Skills Tests are being phased in to replace State Assessment. State Assessment will continue in the areas of science, social studies, and…

A recent California Supreme Court ruling required San Diego Unified School District to implement a course of study in its minority isolated schools that would result in 50 percent of the students achieving at or above national norms on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. In response to the court order, the district initiated the Achievement…

The most important aspect of competency-based education is clearly linked to Bloom's mastery learning model: the establishment of behaviors which ought to be learned and adequately performed by public school students. The main components of competency based education are: (1) establishment of student standards; (2) student testing; and (3)…

Minimum competency testing, in which passing a uniform test is necessary (but not sufficient) for promotion or graduation, has been carried out in a number of colleges, including the City University of New York (CUNY). Competency programs usually have three basic components: placement testing, remedial instruction, and exit testing. Competency…

The Regents Competency Testing Program has been designed to assure that all students develop adequate skills in reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics before graduation from high school in New York. This bulletin provides information on two of the program's three basic elements that contribute to the accomplishment of this goal. First,…

Sample test questions are given for the Proficiency Testing Program adopted by the Idaho State Department of Education. Except for the writing skills test item, which requires a writing sample, all questions are objective, multiple choice items. Sample questions are given for reading, spelling, and mathematics. (MH)

Information regarding state minimum competency testing programs was requested from the 50 state departments of education in the United States in the spring of 1979. The following questions were asked: (1) Do you have a testing program? (2) If you do, what tests are being used? (3) Do you have a testing program in the planning stages? (4) Are there…