America's more than 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges constitute the largest branch of higher education in the country. Two-year colleges are subjected to rigorous institutional accreditation standards and procedures by regional accrediting bodies. At least 80% of their students are already in the workforce, and they serve the…

Policymakers adopt basic skills tests as admission requirements for programs of teacher education to increase the accuracy of admissions and, ultimately, to increase the competence of the teaching force. The tests are regarded as an independent measure of student academic competence. A multiple regression study of the incremental predictive…

This book addresses the issue of angry campus confrontations over issues of race, gender, and ethnicity, and more broadly, the dilemma of the college's and university's ability and desire to attain the goals of liberal education while also desiring to be "politically correct." It is noted that student activists have split the university…

A project in Thailand to develop domain-referenced English language tests for use with Thai secondary and college students is described. The first phase consisted of developing standardized tests for listening, speaking, reading, and writing based on existing syllabuses, determining the common levels of English proficiency in those domains, and…

The statute authorizing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) calls for the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to set appropriate achievement levels in all areas and grades tested by the NAEP. These levels are intended to establish what students should know, not just what they do know. In 1990, the NAEP posited three…

More effective reading, writing, and communication courseware can be promoted through clearer guidelines in courseware development, stronger incentives for courseware developers, and greater motivation for teachers to seek out and use the courseware. In reading and writing, software guidelines must reflect traditional instructional objectives--or…

The product of a comprehensive project aimed at identifying reading, writing, and communication courseware needs, this report first discusses the benefits of computer assisted instruction and obstacles to its implementation in the communications area. It then describes procedures used to gather information and presents a detailed review of the…

The document presents recommendations voted by the Quality Education Conference III participants as the most pressing items of unfinished business in New Mexico education. Recommendations for public schools are listed under the following subheadings: curricular concerns, communication, staff improvement, and fiscal support. Recommendations for…

This manual on general education and common learning was prepared by and for the Dallas County Community College District's (DCCCD's) Committees for Common Learning (CCL's), which have been charged with reviewing the DCCCD's general education curriculum and degree requirements and making recommendations concerning common learning requirements and…

Nine papers were presented at the 1986 Educational Testing Service Invitational Conference on outcomes assessment in higher education. The Award for Distinguished Service to Measurement was awarded to Frederic Kuder for development of the Kuder-Richardson 20 and KR-21 formulas for test reliability, the Kuder Preference Record, and the Kuder…

The proceedings are presented of the hearing before the Congressional Subcommittee on Education, Arts and the Humanities of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. They reveal both the strengths and limitations of the proposed Educational Excellence Act of 1989. The proposed act would promote excellence in American education by: recognizing…

This paper highlights recent trends, issues, and research related to the roles and authority of states in policies for teachers and teaching. A review of literature demonstrates an increased role for state policymakers in education decision making. Decisions that had typically been within the domain of professional educators are now subject to…

The result of a comprehensive review by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges of the minimum standards entitling community college districts to receive state aid, this report provides background information, summarizes proposed changes, and offers the complete text of a revised set of regulations. Section I presents…

Undergraduate admissions policies and practices were studied in the context of enrollment trends, academic standards for admission, and equal access issues. A total of 2,203 two-year and four-year colleges from both the public and private sectors responded to the survey questionnaire. Information was obtained on: selectivity in admissions,…

A basic-skills testing remediation model for older, reentry college juniors was studied longitudinally and cross-validated against previous findings. Attention was directed to the rates of academic success and attrition for students entering an upper-division university in 1981 as juniors and seniors and majoring in business administration. The…