This report summarizes the findings of a 2-year longitudinal study of a number of aspects of the effects of television on three small Canadian communities, one of which began receiving broadcasts for the first time during the study. The three communities were roughly matched for population (650-870 people), population of areas served by the towns,…

After reviewing three current approaches to handling students who fail to meet minimum competency standards, the author proposes a new approach to minimum competency testing. The three common reactions are: (1) doing nothing to help failing students; (2) denying students their high school diplomas; and (3) requiring students to take remedial…

Extracts from the papers and position statements presented at the National Conference on Achievement Testing and Basic Skills are provided in an attempt to capture both the diversity and the consensus among the participants. Six sessions are summarized: (1) achievement tests and basic skills: the issues and the setting--by Harold Howe II; (2)…

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…

Focusing on avoiding consumer frauds and misrepresentations, this document is one in a series of three consumer education modules developed to educate individual adult consumers in important areas of consumer affairs. An introductory section provides an overview of the module contents, suggested approaches for using the module, and suggestions for…

This curriculum guide is designed to orient students to their own characteristics in relation to agricultural occupations, to the occupations available in the broad field of agriculture, and to the decision-making process used in choosing an occupation. An introduction provides an overview of the instructional units, recommends supplementary…

One in a series designed to assist Arizona elementary and junior high school teachers in developing children's traffic safety skills, this curriculum guide contains eight lessons on pedestrian safety for use in grade 2. Introductory information provided for the teacher includes basic highway safety concepts, stressing communication methods for…

A pilot experiment aimed at discovering sex-specific language patterns as exhibited by males and females in conversation with same-sex and other-sex partners falsified the hypothesis frequently stated in the literature that males hold the dominant role in mixed-sex verbal interaction, at least in regard to college students. Twelve dyadic…

Results of the second year of the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Tests in reading and mathematics, mandated by the New Jersey Public School Education Act of 1975, are summarized. Approximately 397,000 students in grades three, six, nine, and eleven were tested. Results of the tests showed that a smaller percentage of sixth-grade students met…

Effective time and resource management is a necessity in all schools, particularly in small schools which make so many kinds of demands on each staff member. To successfully meet the challenge of providing a quality education in a small school, every available resource should be used, the staff and community surveyed to determine special skills or…

To obtain quantifiable employment information and identify training weaknesses of former vocational technical students, a comprehensive follow-up questionnaire was developed and validated. The new questionnaire, after review and revision, was field tested, using twenty-five randomly selected former students (placed in occupations related to their…

A study was conducted to (1) identify continuing education needs and barriers to adult participation in New York State (excluding New York City); (2) collect information about adult education services and staff development priorities in programs sponsored by public schools, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, and two-year state colleges;…

This technical report describes the procedures followed in developing the tests used in the California Assessment Program, the underlying principles of the program, the statistical characteristics of the tests, and the evidence that has been accumulated relating to the validity and reliability of the tests. The report also presents complete…

A system which used pupil outcomes to estimate the predictive validity of assessments of teacher outcomes was field tested in a performance-based teacher education program at Florida State University. Three levels of teaching competency were assessed: (1) competencies associated with cognitive identification of appropriate decisions for…

A project was designed to develop a curriculum model based on salient, sequenced occupational tasks. After an extensive literature review and staff discussions, a modified Q-Sort procedure was formulated to select and sequence tasks. The procedure made it possible to readily utilize a catalogue of tasks compiled by the Vocational-Technical…