This document is one of ten curriculum guides developed by the Nevada Competency-Based Adult High School Diploma (CBAHSD) Project. This curriculum guide on environmental education is divided into seven topics. The topics included are Human Carrying Capacity (The Ability to Foresee and Forestall), Human Population Growth, The Atmosphere, The…

This document is one of ten curriculum guides developed by the Nevada Competency-Based Adult High School Diploma (CBAHSD) Project. This curriculum guide on health is divided into ten topics. The topics included are Nutrition, Reproduction, Menstruation, Contraception, Alcohol Abuse, Tobacco, Immunization, Disease, Accident Prevention, and…

This document is one of ten curriculum guides developed by the Nevada Competency-Based Adult High School Diploma (CBAHSD) Project. This curriculum guide on language arts is divided into six topics. The topics included are Dictionary Usage, Vocabulary, Speech, Poetry, Writing, and Literature Analysis. Competency statements and performance…

This document is one of ten curriculum guides developed by the Nevada Competency-Based Adult High School Diploma (CBAHSD) Project. This curriculum guide on citizenship is divided into twelve topics. The topics included are How to Become a Citizen, Voter Registration, Political Parties, Nominations, Elections, Evaluating Issues, Public Opinion,…

This document is one of ten curriculum guides developed by the Nevada Competency-Based Adult High School Diploma (CBAHSD) Project. This curriculum guide on earth and physical science is divided into twelve topics. The topics included are Geology, Meteorology, Astronomy, Natural Disasters, Chemical Reaction, Laboratory, States of Matter, Force and…

This document is one of ten curriculum guides developed by the Nevada Competency-Based Adult High School Diploma (CBAHSD) Project. This curriculum guide on life science is divided into twelve topics. The topics included are Life Process, Cells, Levels of Organization, Organ Systems, Food and Oxygen-Photosynthesis, Cycles, Energy, Resources, Cell…

There has been specific, measurable progress made in education, but there are threatening trends that could wipe it out. These trends--the back to basics movement, minimum competency testing, vouchering, and the tax revolt--all support each other, and can cause detrimental effects on education if they should succeed. Ways that the federal…

Focusing on the problems of assessing the speaking skills of secondary school students, this paper provides one example of how those problems were addressed in the Massachusetts speaking assessment. The paper identifies four requirements for measures of speaking skills: (1) feasibility, (2) reliability, (3) validity, and (4) freedom from bias. The…

The development and implementation of the Dallas Independent School District's Basic Objectives Assessment Test (BOAT) are described. Beginning in 1979, this minimum competency test was administered system-wide to all students in grades 8-12 (except for those enrolled as special education students), and beginning in 1983 it will be used in…

The New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills (MBS) Tests in reading and mathematics were administered for the third consecutive year during the week of March 24, 1980 to approximately 390,000 publicly educated students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 11. The 1979-80 MBS Tests measured the same skills as the 1977-78 and 1978-79 tests. These three tests remained…

Part of the plan by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to prepare training materials and conduct conferences on improving teachers' use of standardized tests was to survey a representative sample of elementary/secondary teachers. This survey ascertains teacher preparation and knowledge in testing, teacher assessment of the importance of…

Based on work done for the 1978 Ford Fellows in Educational Journalism Program, the document contains series of newspaper articles authored by 10 journalists on various educational topics. The 10 series titles and authors are: "Growing Up Gifted in America's Schools" (H. Collins); "Minimum Competency Testing: State Approaches" (J. Covington);…

This handbook aims to help parents become more familiar with the testing that goes on in their community schools. The first two chapters provide general background on testing, giving the reason and scope of educational testing today, and highlighting the fundamentals of the testing-measurement process. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the various…

The Education Amendments of 1978, Part B of the Elementary Secondary Education Act Title IX were implemented because of the growing concern about illiteracy, test score decline, and educational accountability. They establish funds and technical assistance to state and local education agencies for program implementation and test development. Both…

Two methods (generic or specific) of assessing competency based teacher performance were compared in three studies with 158 special and regular teachers. Two classroom observation instruments - one designed to measure generic teaching competencies at all levels and across all subjects, the other developed for special education teachers only - were…