A mailed survey of child welfare workers in one southern state assessed various aspects of encounters with end-of-life situations in practice. Findings revealed that child deaths, children with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses, and parental deaths were most commonly encountered and that coworkers were relied on for support. Many had no…

The development and availability of well-prepared leaders is vital to the continued success of community colleges and their students. Throughout its history, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has made proactive leadership development a central focus of its mission. Now, that focus takes on even greater urgency as the level of…

Although the topic of effective schools is a popular one among today's educators, researchers, and publishers, there still is no commonly agreed upon definition of an effective school. One definition given by Ronald Edmonds and Lawrence Lezotte is notably precise, measurable, attainable, and easy to determine. They defined an effective school as…

A geography skills test was administered to over 3,000 Indiana college students enrolled in introductory geography courses in 1987. The National Council for Geographic Education Competency-Based Geography Test, Secondary Level, Form D, was used to measure geographic ability in the area of map skills, place name location, physical geography, and…

The enthusiasm for competency testing poses a contradiction, for it comes at a time when questions and criticisms are being increasingly raised about tests and their use. In three sections, this paper explores the competency testing movement: 1) main features and basic issues in the competency testing movements; 2) observations on the politics of…

Training judges to generate item ratings in standard setting once the reference group has been defined is discussed. It is proposed that sensitivity to the factors that determine difficulty can be improved through training. Three criteria for determining when training is sufficient are offered. (SLD)

In this paper we measure the impacts of tougher graduation requirements on course-taking patterns, college attendance and completion, and post-high school labor market outcomes for vocational concentrators and non-concentrators. Our main goal was to assess whether vocational education students were specifically affected (positively or negatively)…

The paper addresses the issues of testing modifications with handicapped students in Houston (Texas) Independent School District. Using descriptive data, the performance of secondary mainstreamed and nonhandicapped students on course proficiency field tests without modifications are compared. Approximately 65% of the mainstreamed students were…

This report on the First Annual National Conference on Student Competencies focues on the legal challenges to competency testing. (IRT)

In this article the Governor of Arkansas discusses the importance of the Arkansas Educational Skills Assessment Test which all Arkansas teachers must pass. (Author/MT)

This study attempted to gain insight into what teacher candidates think about teacher-competency testing and how test results should be used. A majority of students were negative toward testing, and the weight test scores could be given in hiring and evaluation of teachers. Implications and recommendations are discussed. (MT)

Competency testing programs in Detroit, Illinois, and in the states of Maryland, Texas, and South Carolina have positively influenced student learning. In all four programs, measurement was perceived as a catalyst to improve instruction. (MLF)

Discusses the nature of human resource development (HRD), the role of the human resource developer, competencies needed by HRD practitioners, and the development of HRD practitioners. (JOW)

Offers a brief report on the National Assessment of Educational Progress conference on minimum competency testing. Among the reports was one asserting a logical relationship between student competency testing and teacher competency testing, and one noting that no research evidence shows that mandated student competency testing programs are…

A tongue-in-cheek version of a school administrator's "memorandum" illustrates how simplistic solutions to the educational problems, such as establishing minimum competencies for writing achievement, are generated and why they may not solve the problems. (RL)