The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) exit level test was first administered to all eleventh grade students in October 1985. A make-up testing was conducted in January 1986. This report contains the results of the May 1986 retesting of approximately 3,200 11th-grade students who had previously failed to master either the…

The New Jersey Vocational Education Basic Skills Commission was formed to examine issues related to preparing students to pass the state's High School Proficiency Test (HSPT), which must be passed by both academic and vocational students before they can graduate from high school. The commission decided that vocational teachers should have no…

Maryland is one of the states which recently developed new requirements for high school graduation. A preliminary evaluation of these new state standards has raised a number of issues about graduation standards and their assessment. The Maryland State Department of Education examined statewide policies and guidelines for high schools between 1982…

The effects of failing to pass a high school exit exam were examined for the Georgia Basic Skills Test (GBST). Data were collected on a random sample of students who were tenth graders in 1983 and in 1984. The following issues were studied: (1) impact of failure on self esteem, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (P-H);…

A study was undertaken to describe assessment activities of four school districts in Maryland (Washington, Cecil, Montgomery, and Charles Counties) designed to parallel a state-mandated competency-testing program required for high school graduation and to report uses of scores and positive and negative impacts from assessment activities. The…

As part of an examination required by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education in order for 12th grade students to receive a diploma in French, this booklet contains the composition component of the January 1988 tests. Divided into three essay questions for a total writing time of 2.5 hours duration, parts one and two of the test require…

The Middle College High School (MCHS) in Tennessee is an alternative school located on the Shelby State Community College (SSCC) campus, designed to provide special counseling, college preparation, and access to SSCC facilities for potential high school dropouts who have the capacity for secondary and postsecondary success. The program, which was…

The central problem in educational improvement at the state and local level is the tension between school-level autonomy and systemwide uniformity; educational change is limited by three special conditions: (1) inertial autonomy, (2) essential uniformity of public schools, and (3) the fact that effective schools have characteristics that cannot be…

The author estimates that a minimum of 3600 additional mathematics teachers and 1800 additional science teachers will be needed at the secondary school level over the next several years. Each of the following trends is discussed: (1) increases in high school graduation requirements will increase the need for mathematics and science teachers; (2)…

A study, the major product of the Task Force on Instructional Improvement, examined enrollment in, and the design of, master's degree programs in adult education throughout the country. During the study, researchers mailed a project-developed questionnaire to over 100 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada that were believed to…

Intended for students taking the English 33 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this booklet contains the 70 multiple choice questions related to the nine selections in the readings booklet of Part B, the reading component of the June 1988 tests. The questions examine students' skills in: (1) understanding meanings; (2) understanding…

As part of an examination required by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education in order for 12th grade students to receive a diploma in French, this booklet contains the composition component of the June 1988 tests. Divided into three essay questions for a total writing time of 2.5 hours duration, parts 1 and 2 of the test require essays that…

The guide is intended as an information resource for school counselors in their interactions with emotionally handicapped (EH) students and their teachers. Following a definition of EH students, the first of seven brief chapters uses a question-and-answer format to discuss the counselor's role in student assessment and the individualized education…

Statistical equating of scores from direct writing assessments is performed in Maryland to hold the difficulty of passing the Maryland Writing Test (MWT) equivalent from year to year and to allow a demonstration of growth in student writing achievement over the years. Passage of the test is a high school graduation requirement. Prior to…

This document acquaints teachers and curriculum directors with the reading, mathematics, and problem solving indicators assessed by the Georgia Basic Skills Tests, initially given in grade 10. Students who fail initially in grade 10 have at least five other opportunities to take the test and must pass it in order to graduate. In reading, skill…