A national investigation of the impact of basic skills testing on teacher education students and program content and evaluation indicated that students who lack basic skills are being eliminated from programs, faculty are paying more attention to basic skills in their courses, and changes in support activities have occurred due to test results.…

Compared personnel managers' (N=51) perceptions of requisite skills for successful employment and the actual competence of entry level workers. Results indicated a significant discrepancy between needed skills and the competence that secondary school graduates bring to the work place. Speaking and listening were rated most important. (JAC)

Provides a historical review and assessment of Britain's General Certificate of Education and Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Projects the implications of the GCSE for teachers and students and presents challenging views on several of its principles. (ML)

If state certification and other bureaucratic requirements were dropped in favor of a genuine review of the skills of individual teacher candidates, the issue of who should train teachers would be resolved, since only those who successfully educated candidates would survive. (MT)

As the use of competency testing of teachers has increased, the issue of the effect of standardized testing on minority groups at all educational levels has resurfaced. Several programs designed to raise standards and increase test scores are described. (MT)

Much of the responsibility for measuring teacher competency rests with teacher educators. Instead of developing new observation inventories, educators should use available ones. This article describes instruments used at the University of Toledo's competency-based teacher education program since 1979 and suggests they are broad enough to be used…

This article explains the research phase of the Adult Performance Level (APL) project, providing a brief history of how the APL life coping skills curriculum and Competency-Based High School Diploma Program evolved from the project's research and national survey of adult functional competency. Focuses on APL programs implemented within a…

Provides an overview of trends and issues related to the content of associate degree programs, patterns in course requirements, competency expectations, enrollments, the development of standards, and credit for remedial education. (DMM)

Given a loss function, an asymptotic method for optimal test design for a specified target population of examinees is presented. Also, of more practical use, given an existing unidimensional test and target population, a way is presented to find the loss function for which the test is optimal. (NSF)

The College Board has issued standards for academic preparation in high schools for college-bound students. The standards identify skills areas that apply in all subject areas and desirable outcomes in six major discipline areas, including social studies. The significance and impact of the standards for social studies are discussed. (RM)

The Florida Court decision reaffirms a state's right to impose a diploma sanction when competency tests are valid. Testing specialists now have a precedent for demonstrating curricular and instructional validity. Competency testing programs are a useful method for implementing instructional improvements. (DWH)

Examines state high school graduation requirements from the perspectives of academic effectiveness and educational equity. Predicts that minimum competency testing, which is now widespread, will gradually be replaced by further increases in academic credit requirements. (KH)

Reports the results of a national survey that assessed the extent of minimum competency testing in reading in 1984 and the nature and extent of remedial programs based upon minimum competency testing in reading. (HOD)

Teacher education will probably continue to receive specific attention in the competency testing area. Professional educators need to apply the best knowledge and practice available if testing is to become a valuable and valid part of the teacher certification process. (CJB)

Defines oral communication competency and reports a project designed to measure "minimal competency" in cognitive and behavioral/performance dimensions of oral communication. Includes a taxonomy of sample competencies for the basic course and an approach to criterion-referenced measurement. (MH)