This interim report presents the framework for classifying competency-based initiatives developed by the NPEC (National Postsecondary Education Cooperative) Working Group. Section 1 presents a structure for classifying competency initiatives based upon student progression into, within, and from postsecondary education. Key applications of…

Comprised of four chapters and nine appendices, this report concerns social studies instruction in Minnesota's public school. In chapter 1 the Minnesota State Board of Education lists education values, learner values, and its philosophy, mission, and goals. Chapter 2 contains a discussion of the roles and purpose of social studies education.…

During the last decade many school systems began to define minimum levels of competency for their students and to construct tests to measure whether students had achieved these minimums. Many states have passed laws which require high school students to pass minimum competency tests in order to graduate. This digest overviews four areas of…

This document contains entry-level practical nursing competencies arranged in eight categories. Each competency appears on a separate sheet on which is included a list of points of knowledge the student should possess in order to meet the competency and a statement regarding evaluative criteria for the competency. Competencies in the following…

This report describes the development of the competency-based education system currently used in the Newport-Mesa (California) Unified School District. The system's four stages of development--covering philosophy, competencies, assessment, and curriculum--stretched over 15 years, and the philosophical impetus for developing such a system took root…

A study was designed to compare the perceived importance of selected competencies expected of bachelor's level and master's level health educators by practice settings. Subjects were 136 health educators who rated the importance of 135 competencies in the areas of administration, general health knowledge, communication, and evaluation. Results of…

Albert Shanker, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), speaks about the national testing of teachers and calls for the creation of a new and better national examination for new teachers. While members of the AFT have a few differences with some of the current reform proposals, the AFT in general supports the overwhelming majority…

Barbara Jordan served as the hearing officer for three-day adversary evaluation hearings about the pros and cons of minimum competency testing (MCT). This report is the complete transcript of the third day of proceedings. The pro team testimony, led by James Popham, began with William Raspberry, who presented his view of the likely impact of MCT.…

The study identified land-based outdoor leadership competencies deemed necessary by outdoor leaders in the western United States. Using resources such as outdoor leadership literature, competency-based teacher education manuals, consultation with outdoor leadership specialists in educational, private, and governmental agencies, and personal…

Some general questions about minimum competency tests are discussed, and various methods of setting standards are reviewed with major attention devoted to those methods used for dichotomizing a continuum. Methods reviewed under the heading of Absolute Judgments of Test Content include Nedelsky's, Angoff's, Ebel's, and Jaeger's. These methods are…

A competency test for writing that tests writing competency as an interdisciplinary skill called "academic writing" has been developed at The American University. The test focuses heavily on the subject and lightly on the writer or on the writer's sensibility. It avoids asking the student to write introspective "meditations," to take and defend a…

A general model along with four illustrations is presented for the consideration of budgetary constraints in the setting of passing scores in instructional programs involving remedial action for poor test performers. Budgetary constraints normally put an upper limit on any choice of passing score. Given relevant information, this limit may be…

Proceedings of the symposium on Implications for Minority Groups of the Movement Toward Minimum-Competency Testing (MCT) include the following papers: (1) "Implications of Minimum-Competency Testing for Minority Students" by A. Graham Down, who asserts that MCT offers more hope than any development in public school policy since 1954 for…

This paper describes the writing skills section of a language skills framework that was devised as part of a project to indicate language competencies necessary for functioning in English classrooms in grades one through six. The paper discusses the collection and grade leveling of the writing skills and describes the organization of those skills…

This paper contains descriptions of documents setting forth the minimum communications skills competencies required for high school graduation in seven states: Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Utah. It then describes the procedures used to compile a synthesized list from those documents for use in a project to assess…