The work of the Assessment Development Laboratory (ADL) at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) in developing an assessment for identifying accomplished teachers of English language arts to young adolescents (aged 11 to 15 years) for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is reviewed. The assessment is meant to…

The experience of the Canadian provinces with large-scale testing programs is reviewed to suggest answers to questions currently discussed in the United States regarding the proposed national system of achievement testing. In the Canadian provinces, tests are linked to provincial curricula. Standards and assessments are not set by experts with no…

In an effort to provide the people of Iowa with a clearer sense of the needs for improvement in the state's 15 public community colleges, this report examines problem areas and causes and presents recommendations for improving educational quality. First, a discussion is provided of four key problem areas identified through a survey of over 1,000…

The 1992 achievement tests for the Alberta (Canada) public schools show what students in grades 3, 6, and 9 can do in social studies, language arts, and mathematics, respectively. Results are reported in terms of curriculum standards, achievement standards, and assessment standards. In June 1992, there were 41,696 students in grade 3, 37,837 in…

A brief sketch is presented of the assessment strategies of the College Board in two unique programs, EQUITY 2000 and Pacesetter, both works in progress that attempt to meet the challenges of the new era of equity and excellence in education. EQUITY 2000, launched in 1990, is a multi-faceted approach to closing the gap between college-going rates…

In discussing educational equity and Project Performance and Assessment Collaboratives for Education (PACE), the authors present an argument, a detailed illustration, and a set of imperatives for education in the United States. The argument examines the last century and a half of American educational practice to illustrate why we cannot simply…

This guide is designed to help workplace trainers in Australia's coal industry improve coal miners' operator and general communication skills through a curriculum that integrates training in language, literacy, and numeracy. The following topics are discussed in the guide's seven sections: the changing workplace (changing work environment;…

This report describes how the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) Framework for Educational Accountability, which specifies outcomes and indicators for six developmental levels (ages three and six, grades four, eight, and twelve, and post-school), can be used to implement parts of the National Association of State Directors of Special…

In an effort to understand and unify competing voices, which on one hand defend and seek to preserve the open-access college and on the other hand point to concomitant tensions, dilemmas, and uncertainties and call for reform, this book examines the achievements of community colleges, as well as the lingering problems that undercut those…

Consensus and visitation moderation are applied to Year 10 and Year 11 English and mathematics with the aim of achieving comparable standards across the Northern Territory (Australia). Additional aims are to provide professional support and inservice for teachers and to improve performance standards. Moderation involves meetings of teachers and…

In October 1986, the Tennessee State Board of Education adopted nine principles setting forth a framework for the design of an improved teacher education system in Tennessee and identifying major areas of responsibility for higher education institutions, local school systems, and the state. The principles include: (1) liberal arts preparation; (2)…

The 1986-1987 annual report of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is presented. In addition to statements from the SREB chairman and president, the report contains a program sampler in which progress in the following areas is addressed: improving the quality of teachers, establishing standards and assessments to improve quality in higher…

The Florida Cabinet has decided to accept a significant decrease in the number of individuals completing college degrees, as long as those who do graduate are able to pass the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) at a considerably higher level than is presently required. Under the new standards, only 48% of the first-time CLAST examinees are…

This manual was developed to provide Missouri consumer and homemaking education teachers with documentation of the core competencies and skills that they teach. The key skills were developed from the following areas: English/reading/language arts; mathematics; science; and social studies/civics. Documentation was accomplished through analysis of…

Major barriers to equal access of minority and disadvantaged students to higher education are considered in eight papers and five responses from the 1982 Wingspread Conference on Postsecondary Programs for the Disadvantaged. Included is a policy statement from the conference that covers: quality education for all, the interrelatedness of education…