Problems and opportunities in educational reform at all educational levels are considered in this collection of 18 articles. Titles and authors are as follows: Introduction (William J. Johnston); "Evidence of Decline in Educational Standards" (Philip N. Marcus); "Standards--by What Criteria?" (Francis Keppel); "Educational…

Remedial and developmental programs at two-year and four-year colleges in states belonging to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) were studied, along with placement standards for degree-credit, college-level work in SREB states and institutions. These programs, courses, and activities were designed specifically for first-time entering…

A one-page introduction is followed by summaries of articles and documents on teacher competency testing. George F. Madaus argues that, although tests serve some useful functions, treating them as a major mechanism for reforming education is questionable. Peter A. Garcia examines the negative impact of testing on minority teachers and minorities…

Prompted by the national educational reform movement, a Kentucky committee, mandated by the general assembly, called in 1983 for changes in the preparation and certification of school administrators. This study presents a background of the mandates, details of the certification changes, the board of education's study of administrative preparation…

This paper assesses the credibility of a single total instrument score and various logical sub-scores derived from a series of summative judgments about the quality of teaching performance. The objectives were to compare the generalizability of alternative Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument (TPAI) scores, to compare the dependability of…

Teacher-made mastery tests were administered in a classroom-sized sample to study their decision consistency. Decision-consistency of criterion-referenced tests is usually defined in terms of the proportion of examinees who are classified in the same way after two test administrations. Single-administration estimates of decision consistency were…

School effectiveness indices (SEIs), based on regressing test performance onto earlier test performance and a socioeconomic status measure, were obtained for eight subject-grade combinations from 485 South Carolina elementary schools. The analysis involved school means based on longitudinally matched student data. Reading and mathematics…

A study of students' and teachers' attitudes toward cheating in the classroom of English as a second language (ESL) compared responses of five groups to a questionnaire concerning the use of crib notes, copying from another student's test, and allowing or refusing to allow another student to copy in hypothetical test situations. The comparison…

This handbook is designed to provide teacher applicants and vocational educators with general information about Kentucky's Beginning Vocational Teacher Testing Program. Information is provided on amended chapter 396 of Kentucky's Revised Statute, which stipulates that all new/beginning teachers successfully complete appropriate written tests and…

The Adolescent Communication Screen--a criterion-based instrument designed to provide speech-language clinicians a measure for screening the communication skills of students in grades 5 through 12--is described in this document. Included in the description are the instrument's subtests: vocabulary, temporal concepts, language comprehension,…

Emerging and traditional forms of assessment in U.S. higher education are considered in this collection of five conference papers from the 1985 National Conference on Assessment in Higher Education. Included are a foreword by Education Secretary William J. Bennett and concluding remarks by Clifford Adelman. Paper titles and authors are as follows:…

A review of the state of the art of computer applications in foreign language instruction begins with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of this method of instruction, its history of use, use of natural language, interaction and communication, and types of computer assisted instruction (CAI). A section examining the relationship…

This journal includes the following articles on teaching English as a second language: "Information for English Teachers"; "Approved Textbooks for the 1984-1985 School Year"; "Oral Bagrut Examinations--Revised Rating Scale" (Rafael Gefen); "Books for Grade Four" (Penny Ur); "Determining the Character of…

Comparative higher education data for 1982-1983 are provided for the 14 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states. Brief narrative summaries are also included for each of the following topics: state appropriations, tuition and fees, faculty compensation, enrollment, degrees awarded, health professions education, and student testing results.…

This chapter reviews 1982 cases involving pupils. Such cases increased one-third in 1982, with much of the increase attributable to litigation concerning the rights of handicapped students. A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case defining the congressional mandate of an "appropriate education" for such students may help reduce the controversy in…