This paper is part of a series investigating the implementation of competency education. The purpose of the paper is to explore how districts and schools can redesign grading systems to best help students to excel in academics and to gain the skills that are needed to be successful in college, the community, and the workplace. In order to make the…

These newsletters, produced during the second year of activity of a standing committee of the National Council of Teachers of English, focus on standardized testing as it affects the teaching of English. The first newsletter describes committee activities and priorities and includes a bibliography of information on tests and evaluation. The other…

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…

In attempting to meet school-board mandates for competency-based testing in composition, educators must devise the most acceptable testing programs they can. This paper describes a design (the Paul Diederich system) for testing students' writing skills, which yields statistically reliable data on individual students, and reports on a New Orleans…

Approximately 100 items are included in this bibliography on competency based education and minimal competency testing. These items, which are arranged in alphabetical order, by title or author, include bibliographies, conference proceedings, monographs, position papers, journal articles, program descriptions, speeches, resource guides, and state…

Three conference sessions focused on attempts to implement minimum competency testing programs at various educational levels. In each of the sessions particular attention was paid to planning for the development of a minimum competency testing program; the processes of development, initiation, and interpretation of the results; and difficulties…

Due to Ohio state mandate, recommendations were made regarding minimal competency testing (MCT) in the state, based upon a literature review of legal and measurement issues, as well as data from a survey of school district practices in Cuyahoga County. Factors subject to legal debate include test validity, length of phase-in period, unequal…

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…

Summaries are presented of the problems and issues of minimum competency testing which were discussed at four regional conferences for political and educational practitioners. The Education Commission of the States sponsored the conferences, but took no official position of support or opposition. Section 1 compares the legislative, practitioner,…

An examination of the current status of minimum competency testing is presented in a series of short essays, which discuss case studies of individual school systems and state approaches. Sections are also included on the viewpoints of critics and supporters, teachers and teacher organizations, principals and students, and the federal government.…

A variety of viewpoints were represented in this symposium for chief state school officials and senior staff of state departments of education. Russell Vlaanderen, Education Commission of the States, opened with a national overview: "The Policy Implications of Minimum Competency Testing: The Case of the Standardized Student." Attorney…

The first part of this report is a question-and-answer survey of minimum competency legislation, testing programs, and remedial programs. It includes the questions of both the educator and the lay person. Topics include: minimum competency tests, the debate over minimum competency programs, what happens after testing, and what citizens should look…

Three areas of concern for those considering competency-based graduation requirements are discussed. First, what is involved in implementing a competency-based graduation requirement? The first tasks are the specification of performance standards and the performance skill areas. Then, appropriate certification procedures can be selected, and their…

Addressing often neglected broad issues, rather than the pragmatics of test development and administration, this Conference on Minimum Competency Achievement Testing was organized around six topics: (1) social and philosophical roots, uniqueness among testing movements, and policy issues; (2) legal, curricular, and social-demographic consequences;…