This booklet answers frequently asked questions about the Exit Examination that students in South Carolina must pass before they receive a high school diploma. As provided for by the Education Improvement Act of 1984, the State Board of Education adopted the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) objectives in 1985 as the basis for…

This paper examines the influence of race and ethnicity on who goes to college and who graduates, and discusses policy issues surrounding higher education access and outcomes. Based on case studies of 10 majority institutions in 8 states, the paper proposes a conceptual scheme for dealing with such issues as the appropriate balance between…

Determining "what percentage of community college students transfer" requires clarification of such questions as which students should be included in the calculation, how many hours should the student earn at the community college before transferring, and how long should the students be followed. At Prince George's Community College, transfer…

The summary of a statewide conference on future directions for Iowa education in congruence with national education goals and the results of a follow-up survey are the topics of this report. Roundtable discussion participants assessed 10 educational goals and their associated indicators in relation to validity of the indicators, barriers to…

The intent of this chapter is to emphasize the student evaluation aspect over other legal principles. Several cases illustrate that courts will interfere with school boards' authority to determine placement of pupils only when a violation of constitutional or statutory rights of a student occurs. In the matter of sanctions against students that…

In a survey of 1,500 administrators, most of the 400 respondents agreed by an 8 to 1 margin that reforms to raise academic standards in public schools are necessary. In high schools, a decline in reading, vocabulary, and math skills is due basically to a decreased academic emphasis. Solutions include more required courses, more opportunities for…

Data from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and achievement tests and from the High School and Beyond Survey were examined to explore: (1) differences among states in the amount of coursework taken by high school students; (2) differences across states in SAT achievement test scores; (3) the relationship between course taking and achievement; and…

This assessment of the outcomes of increased access to postsecondary education for hearing-impaired students focuses on attrition levels and earnings levels. To analyze attrition from postsecondary programs serving the deaf, information from 95 programs was gathered. Using an algorithm to estimate cohort survival rates and taking into account…

This paper reports on the degree to which teacher educators have addressed the current calls for reform in teacher education. The data were taken from the Institutional Questionnaire of the Research about Teacher Education (RATE) Project of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). The 90 respondents, each representing…

A project was conducted at Sumner High School in Sumner, Washington, to establish districtwide policies and procedures for granting equivalent credit for English, mathematics, science, and social studies skills taught in vocational education courses. Using as a guide the Washington Commission on Vocational Education's 1986 booklet entitled…

Bob Algozzine et al. studied Florida's minimum competency testing as a requirement for high school graduation and wrote a report titled "Analysis of Basic Skill Competencies of Learning Disabled Adolescents," from which this one-page summary was prepared. The study sample included 938 regular class students and 1,098 learning-disabled…

This report presents findings from the Adolescent Parent Outreach Survey (APOS), a longitudinal survey of mothers under 18 years old in Cook County, Illinois, who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in October 1981. The report provides a profile of adolescent mothers on AFDC, and identifies personal and family background…

Questions about the supply of highly qualified graduates in Canada are examined. Attention is directed to the following concerns: the need for more adequate statistical information about Canadian postsecondary education and about current and future requirements for highly qualified graduates; the problems of maintaining equilibrium in the period…

Guidelines are presented for use by school personnel in reviewing and improving locally developed proficiency tests used in meeting the requirements of the California Pupil Proficiency Law. The guide is organized in three main chapters on test construction, test validation, and test documentation. The test construction chapter focuses on issues…

A school's promotion policy is an integral component of its overall educational policy. In conjunction with achievement goals, it defines the levels of performance that permit students to move through grade levels and to graduate. This digest reviews the various promotion policies and practices in current use by secondary schools, particularly…