A judicial decision on issues raised by state diploma denial found that competency testing of Florida's high school students as a graduation requirement violated due process by not providing students with adequate notice. The court prescribed some degree of curricular validity to determine whether the test covered materials actually taught.…

Describes development and implementation of the Indiana University French Communicative Ability Test, designed to provide valid and reliable evaluation of minimal communicative ability. (BK)

Introduces the University of Wisconsin-Parkside's Collegiate Skills Program which requires that students exhibit competencies in reading, writing, mathematics, library skills, and the research paper before the end of their sophomore year. Details placement procedures, course sequences, competency testing, and indicators of the program's success.…

Results of a statewide study on student teaching programs in Indiana indicated that school supervisors needed help in improving the quality of on-site supervision. One improvement strategy was the use of school supervisor evaluation as an inservice tool. (JN)

The bare minimum mathematical competencies for all college graduates are listed. It is felt too many people know too little mathematics, and ignorance is seen as a form of "functional illiteracy". The ideas presented were generated by a panel established by the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics. (MP)

In addition to stigmatizing and prejudicing the future of young people, the denial of a high school diploma based on test scores represents a waste of public funds and human resources. In recent years, however, the educational system has been increasingly concerned with testing school children rather than teaching them. (Author/GC

Comments on state legislative intervention in curriculum during the past decade. Discusses attempts to establish minimum competency testing and legislative mandates regarding subjects and minimum instructional time. Addresses back-to-basics and saleable skills issues and reviews a Presidential Advisory Committee report with a discussion of…

Argues against using results of minimum competency testing (MCT) as the sole determinant of student classification, promotion, or condition for graduation from high school. Favors accountability, but asserts that MCT is not the best alternative available. (WD)

Despite demonstrated success of a graduation competency testing policy in Tatnall County (Georgia), a judge ruled that the policy violated due process because the school district could not show that the items on the test were actually taught in the schools. (WD)

Underscores the problems of misunderstanding and misrepresentation in competency-based education (CBE). Proposes a definition of CBE, acknowledging that it must be adapted to individual colleges. Offers a rationale for adopting a CBE framework and provides an inventory model to facilitate the assessment of the quality of a CBE program. (CAM)

Examines the possibility of legal challenges to minimum competency tests on the grounds that they violate freedom of expression (including the right to remain silent), privacy, and substantive due process guarantees. Available from the Catholic University Law Review, Catholic University of America School of Law, Room 1 Washington, D.C. 20064; sc…

Reports on the national demand for higher educational standards evident in the state legislation of the past three or four years that has mandated minimum competency testing programs. States that have adopted various kinds of such legislation are listed. (JD)

Minimum competency testing seems here to stay. The challenge to teachers is to promote public realization that test performance cannot completely measure complex skills; that mandated basic skills instruction may be an oversimplification of the teaching/learning process; and that definitions of minimum competence constantly change. (SJL)

A study was conducted to determine how the approach to assessing outcomes in Adult Basic Education exemplified by the Adult Performance Level Survey compares with the most widely used approach exemplified by the General Educational Development test. Test scores suggest that reading ability significantly affects performance on both tests.…

The major issues addressed include the extent to which handicapped students should participate in or be exempt from the testing program, whether tests and scoring criteria should be adapted for individual handicapped students or categories of students, and whether differential diplomas should be awarded to handicapped students on the basis of test…