Legal issues of minimum competency testing derive from federal and state constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, and from common law. Constitutional provisions for equal protection, due process, and freedom of belief and privacy, are primarily federal; education provisions are state mandated. Only four court cases have directly…

The author stresses the need for college history instructors to make an effort to help students learn how to take good lecture notes, understand reading assignments, and obtain practice in writing. He also encourages more strict admission requirements in writing skills and college-wide adoption of more rigorous coursework. Students in American…

An examination of the current status of minimum competency testing is presented in a series of short essays, which discuss case studies of individual school systems and state approaches. Sections are also included on the viewpoints of critics and supporters, teachers and teacher organizations, principals and students, and the federal government.…

This publication is a summary report of a national conference cosponsored by the U.S. Office of Education and the National Association of Secondary School Principals to discuss current concerns in secondary education. The report includes adaptations of general session addresses, reports on each of the 20 workshops, and articles on the general…

Substantial research demonstrate that high school graduates are not being prepared to succeed. There are gaps between the education received in high school and the overall skills, abilities and work habits needed for the demands of postsecondary education and the workforce. Seventy-six percent of employers in Arkansas state that less than half of…

This document contains an introduction to the Ohio Integrated Technical and Academic Competency (ITAC) and Specialization ITAC; and overview of the electronics field; an list acknowledging the professionals who helped develop the competency list; and the comprehensive listing of the professional or occupational competencies deemed essential for…

Social studies is concerned with developing reflective, democratic citizenship within a global context, and includes the disciplines typically classified as belonging to the social and behavioral sciences as well as history, geography, and content selected from law, philosophy, and the humanities. It also includes those topics that focus on social…

A survey of 272 medical school chief residents concerning proposed revisions of internal medicine residency requirements found the most strongly supported changes were: enhanced training in interviewing, interpersonal, and physical examination skills; increased emphasis on residency as an educational experience and on general internal medicine in…

In this article, the authors looked at the effects of one old-style educational reform--higher course graduation requirements--and five standard-based reforms--(1) school report cards; (2) rewards for school improvement; (3) sanctions for failing schools; (4) minimum competency examinations; and (5) hybrid minimum competency exam…

The curricular recommendations of the current educational-reform movement are discussed and their likely effects on at-risk youth are considered. Current reform efforts tend to focus on three major curricular changes: (1) increase the number of academic courses required to graduate from high school; (2) increase the time for education; and (3) end…

This document contains five papers from a seminar devoted to the rise in the level of diplomas across the labor market. "Diploma and the Labour Market: Results and Questions Stemming from European Research" (Louis Mallet) discusses the findings of a recent study of six European countries in an attempt to explain the enormous growth in…

This report, the seventh in a series, summarizes information taken from a variety of ongoing and special studies about education in Utah. The first type of information deals with students' academic achievements and aptitudes. This category includes results from the American College Testing Program, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Preliminary…

Since the mid-1970s, at least 20 states have instituted standardized tests that must be passed before students can receive a high school diploma. This paper draws on data collected in four states to explore some of the lasting effects of competency test legislation. Of particular interest is student awareness of these tests. A survey of 733…

The evolution and activities of the Allegheny Foreign Language Association (AFLA) are described in the context of the organization of foreign language education in the area and the attitudes of the professionals involved. Foreign language instruction in Allegheny County includes: Pittsburgh public school programs, including elementary magnet…

A teaching handbook accompanying North Carolina's revised competency-based curriculum for second language instruction in elementary and secondary schools is presented. An introductory section outlines the philosophy and rationale behind the curriculum and its revision, discusses the role of thinking skills in learning, briefly describes programs…