An assessment instrument to evaluate the competency of speech language pathologists, developed by the Special Education Competencies for Teachers Project, is presented. The instrument was developed by a committee of concerned educators, and a survey of Georgia special education directors, speech language pathologists, and a 10% sampling of…

Remarks made at several panel discussions are summarized in this narrative report. The discussion topics and speakers include: (1) public education and testing--Tom Tomlinson, Ann Kahn, Herb Mack, and Jean Nazzaro, with remarks by Patricia Albjerg Graham; (2) standards regarding testing--Walt Haney, Barbara Lerner, Ann Cook, Willo White, and Bob…

Due to an increased awareness of the need for accountability in vocational education, much attention is being focused upon competency-based vocational education. The U.S. Office of Education is supporting work for the development of competency measures for vocational skill areas. Two occupational competency tests in each of seven areas will be…

The events surrounding legal challenges to minimum competency testing programs are described, and ways of coping with the experiences are suggested. Discussion primarily is based on five legal challenges to the Florida program although reference is made to suits in other states for contrast. Whenever a student is faced with a threat to promotion…

Productive changes in schooling throughout the 1980s are contingent on emphasis being placed on school effectiveness rather than on curriculum adjustments. Today's curriculum sprawl, caused by the state and federal legislatures' penchant for creating courses to cure newly-emerging social ills, must not deplete resources that should be directed…

Fear of poor teaching and low national test scores have spawned a back to basics movement and a shift from the use of tests as predictors and models to that of assessment and achievement. This movement may have positive impact on the teaching of English, which previously has not lent itself well to standardized testing. Although many English…

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide administrators, teachers, parents, and other members of the New York City educational community with a resource that identifies, within all disciplines, the basic body of knowledge and skills to be taught at each grade or level (K-9). The bulletin begins with a broad perspective of each subject area,…

A series of six fact sheets giving basic information on specific subjects of interest to those working with handicapped and gifted children. The fact sheets, developed by the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children during fiscal year 1978, are designed in a question/answer format and have…

The contractual competency program is designed to develop and assess the understanding and ability to apply the basic concepts of physical activity. This is done through a program of self-assessment and the subsequent planning and implementation of an individualized program of physical activities and experiences. (JD)

Examines each of the four arguments aginst the North Carolina competency testing program: that the test will result in denial of equal protection of the law, in a violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and in a denial of both procedural and substantive due process. (Author/IRT)

A list of the basic competencies in mathematics set by the Vermont Board of Education is given and discussed. The basic competencies are grouped as follows: numeration, measurement, money, arithmetic, and reasoning. (MP)

The minimum competency movement is a national response to concern about a supposed decline in standards in the nation's schools. This article addresses some vital questions about the movement that have been left unanswered. (Author/RK)

Describes problems with standardized testing and urges teachers to educate the public about weaknesses in statewide minimum competency testing. (DD)

Describes the competency-based approach to reading programs used in Maryland. (MKM)

Back to basics fundamentalism, the minimal competency movement, and competency testing are simplistic approaches to complex educational problems. (DD)