Lakeland Senior High School (LSHS), a suburban school in Lakeland, Florida, has used PLATO (registered) courseware from 1995 to meet a variety of student needs. They use their three dedicated PLATO labs to help students prepare for college placement tests such as the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), prepare to retake the Florida High School…

In 1987, a study was conducted to evaluate the ability of several variables to predict student performance on Florida's minimum competency test for rising juniors, the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). The variables included grades received in required courses; semesters elapsed prior to taking required courses after entering college;…

Reports on an experiment designed to identify positive variables in the essay writing of Black college students and to use the variables in a new writing course. Suggests that instruction in concepts, skills, and relationships, when combined with consideration of students' diagnosed needs, can result in writing improvement. (AOS)

The objective of the study was to determine whether Competency-Based Testing (CBT) schools altered their curriculum differently than Non-Competency-Based Testing schools (NCBT), and, if so, what selected factors were identified as contributing to the differences among the responses secondary schools made to CBT. The data from 410 member high…

Patriot High School (PHS) adopted a remediation strategy to help its 10th-grade students at risk of failing the Math portion of MCAS, the state's end of year competency exam. The centerpiece of that strategy was a computer-based instructional (CBI) course. PHS used a commercially available CBI product to align the course content with the…

Intended to help secondary school students prepare for the New York Board of Regents competency tests in writing, this manual will enable students to use writing for effective communication of their needs and enjoyment of the pleasure of permanent self-expression. The first portion of the manual provides several introductory lessons and writing…

Questions about the effectiveness of efforts to increase scores on minimum-competency tests and the appropriateness of their use were answered by teachers, education students, and administrators in Ohio, Georgia, and Texas. The first questionnaire was completed by 59 current teachers and 152 education students, who were asked if 30 listed…

Reported in this monograph are the results from a survey of composition teachers in the City University of New York (CUNY). The questionnaire used for the survey sought (1) to obtain quantitative data about teachers' instructional practices and about their perceptions of the impact of the Writing Skills Assessment Test (WSAT) of minimum writing…

A major barrier to minority student participation in the Arizona State University teacher preparation program is the state-mandated requirement that all sections of the PreProfessional Skills Test (PPST) be passed before any teacher preparation courses can be taken. This paper describes the significant features of a minority recruitment/support…

A study was conducted to ascertain whether additional focus on test-taking strategies might significantly improve the passing rate of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) students on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). All students who took the summer and fall 1984 administrations of the CLAST were included in the study. Original…

This paper examines some of the implications of present testing programs for minority groups. The effects on prospective teachers and the institutions that prepare them are discussed. The role of the testing movement in molding the curriculum that is taught in colleges of education is described with particular consideration of state-mandated…

The Minimum Performance Test (MPT), Metropolitan Achievement Test, Sixth Edition (MAT6), and the new standards required by the 1983 Quality Education Act and their impact on teachers in Arkansas were assessed. A sample of 103 elementary school teachers from 39 school districts indicated that the tests and standards generally met with favorable…

This booklet answers frequently asked questions about the Exit Examination that students in South Carolina must pass before they receive a high school diploma. As provided for by the Education Improvement Act of 1984, the State Board of Education adopted the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) objectives in 1985 as the basis for…

This newsletter is part of an effort to improve mastery of the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS). Responses of teachers to a survey in the Spring of 1987 concerning their beliefs and facts about the TEAMS are reported, along with clarifying facts about this criterion referenced test. Teaching to the TEAMS is advisable because…

The Knoxville City Schools (KCS) Proficiency Project ran from fall 1984 to spring 1987 in three Knoxville, Tennessee, middle schools and three high schools. Students in three of the eight KCS high schools were scoring consistently lower than pupils in the other schools on the grade 9 State Proficiency Test, especially in math (M) and language arts…