Suggests that competency reading programs should be based on a definition of functional reading that applies reading skills to real-life tasks, that materials should be real and timely, and that activities should center on finding meaning. (MKM)

The authors discuss why certification examinations for park, recreation, and leisure professionals are needed and highlight specific concerns now being addressed by the Test Development Management Committee of the National Recreation and Park Association. (MT)

People in organizations are increasingly called upon to serve as small group facilitators or to assist in this role. This article uses data collected from practicing facilitators at three points of time and a building block process of collection, analysis, further collection, and consolidation to develop and refine a list of competencies. A…

Differentiating the curriculum has been a challenging task for classroom teachers, but it has become even more challenging after the No Child Left Behind Act, because the emphasis in programming and funding in schools has shifted from realizing the individual potential of every student to raising all students to the same level of minimum…

Texas, which has helped shape key tenets of the standards and accountability movement, is on the brink of revamping the way it assesses high school students for graduation. Instead of testing knowledge that students accumulate over several years, the state would test what students learn in each course. A bill passed by the Texas Senate last month…

Alternative group judgment approaches to setting minimum competency standards were compared. Replication of results was possible for eight different tests (reading and mathematics, across four grade levels). The Kansas Competency Based Tests in reading and mathematics were administered statewide to students in grades two, four, six, and eight.…

This paper discusses incorporating collaborative learning into accounting classes as a response to the Accounting Education Change Commission's call to install a more active student learner in the classroom. Collaborative learning requires the students to interact with each other and with the material within the classroom setting. It is a…

Research on student-learning outcomes indicates that university graduates do not possess important skills required by employers, such as communication, decision-making, problem-solving, leadership, emotional intelligence, social ethics skills as well as the ability to work with people of different backgrounds. Today, engineering graduates are…

Specific steps for applying the Angoff method are described. In the Angoff method, judges are asked to estimate the probabilities of minimally competent candidates' answering multiple choice test items correctly. Initial information must be obtained for designing the standard-setting process, beginning with the purpose of the examination and any…

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) requires that all graduates have skills in reading and mathematics equivalent to a ninth-grade level or above (based on scores on the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills). Of the 3,152 high school graduates in 1983-84, the percentage who met AISD's minimum competency requirement was 91 percent in reading,…

Discusses the following issues raised by competency-based education (CBE): (1) defining competency, (2) nonequivalent levels of competency, (3) monitoring student progress, (4) competency testing, (5) grouping for instruction, and (6) the legal implications of competency testing. Presents guidelines to reading teachers considering employment in a…

This paper discusses how certain recent technical advances might be extended to examine proficiency tests which are conceptualized as representing a variety of skills with one or more items per skill. In contrast to previous analyses, errors in the item level are included. (Author/BW)

This paper discusses certain developments in education policy in the European Union since the implementation of the Lisbon strategy. Greater focus on lifelong learning as a means of increasing the competitiveness of the European Union, and establishment of several new, efficient policy tools (above all the "open method of coordination")…

Understanding the influence of culture on education systems is central to the internationalization process of academic programs. In this paper we analyze the effect of societal culture on teaching and learning in the management programs of three educational institutions in Germany, India, and Mexico. We applied of the findings of GLOBE (House et…

This study investigates the effectiveness of a two-plus-two university center teacher education program. In this program, the entire curriculum is delivered on community college campuses; community college faculty members deliver the general education coursework, and university faculty members deliver coursework in the teacher education program…