Legal decisions from the past 20 years that have been influential on the direction of the competency-based and teacher certification testing movement are described. Suggestions for test developers are made to guide them in developing tests that are fair and that comply with legal precedents. (JL)

Guidelines for test developers and users are provided to insure that construction and selection of test instruments are conducted fairly. In addition to development and selection, issues of interpretation of scores; provision of information to test takers; and prevention of test bias based on race, gender, or ethnicity are addressed. Twenty-one…

This report stems from the misunderstanding of what general standardized tests and standardized admission tests can and were designed to do, and an uneasiness with certain discoveries concerning biases in the tests. Important issues such as margin of error, predictive value, social and racial bias, and the effects of coaching are the very issues…

Establishment of the new Law and Education Center (LEC) at the Education Commission of the States is announced in this document. It notes that the LEC offers preventive legal assistance to state educational programs and that it will focus on a limited number of specific legal issues. The central topic of this initial newsletter is competency…

The three volumes outline Alaska's procedures for implementing individualized education programs (IEPs) and for providing nonbiased assessment of exceptional students. The first two volumes deal with IEPs and include sections on initial identification, referral, multidisciplinary assessment, IEP development/placement, IEP review and reevaluation,…

Proceedings from the September 1985 hearing focus on the implementation of P.L. 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, as it relates to learning handicapped delinquents in the District of Columbia (D.C.). Statements are presented from officials of the general accounting office, D.C. public school officials, administrators of D.C.…

Truth in testing, competency testing, and intelligence tests constitute the central topics of this newsletter. The authors review a report prepared by the Education Commission of the States on truth-in-testing legislation and litigation, covering recent efforts at the state and federal levels to open the testing process to public scrutiny. They…

A review of state laws governing certification of professional educators reveals both wide agreement on many certification issues and a shift toward making requirements more stringent. Teacher certification has long been accepted as a means of ensuring minimum competency. Many of the issues surrounding certification have been settled, including…

This paper discusses Congressional and judicial attempts to deal with the problem of employment practices which lead to discriminatory outcomes but which may not be discriminatory in intent. The use of paper and pencil tests as standards for hiring and promotion is focused on as an example of this type of employment practice. An historical account…

Two years after the implementation of Florida's Educational Accountability Act, which mandates statewide competency testing in reading, writing, and arithmetic, the author cites the advantages of the program, refutes criticisms of it and reviews the challenge to it in Federal District court, the Debra P. V. Turlington case. (SJL)

The authors critique legal arguments which have been used by attorneys, especially Merle S. McClung of the Center for Law and Education, in opposing minimum competency testing programs in the schools. The arguments mainly concern the 14th Amendment, racial discrimination, and the denial of due process. (SJL)

Current conflicts over test bias and "truth-in-testing" reflect differing aims of education and the increasingly important social role of testing in our society. (Author)

Discusses two cases in which Black schoolchildren challenged the validity and cultural fairness of standardized, individually administered intelligence tests; Larry P. versus Riles and PASE versus Hannon. Describes the diametrically opposed outcomes of the decisions, highlights important similarities, and critically analyzes each court's reasoning…

The purpose of this hearing was, review of the No Child Left Behind Law for reauthorization, consideration as to whether or not to reform the current definition of "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP). Members testifying before the Committee were the Hon. Jason Altmire, a Representative in Congress from the State of Pennsylvania; Hon. Howard…

Advocates for minority students charge that special education placement of racially or culturally different students is unfair because the tests, standardized on white, middle-class children, do not accurately reflect the learning rate or potential achievement level of others. For this reason, reliance on IQ tests for placement of minority…