This review of recent research on minimum competency testing requirements focuses on the impact of such requirements on school curricula and on the processes of selecting which competencies are to be tested, determining cutoff scores, and ensuring test validity and reliability. (JBM)

Concerns of a researcher in a Belgian university regarding the trend toward policy implementation dominated by short- and medium-term budgetary considerations are outlined. The university system's heterogeneous, compartmentalized nature and potential are noted, along with the relationship to the government and the real danger of break-up of the…

Self-assessment leads to stronger performance in the nation's colleges and universities. That's the premise of "Excellence in Higher Education," a model self-assessment program that has earned accolades from the higher education community. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the third edition of this bestseller is the…

These principles of quality for Web-based courses for middle grades and high school students are intended to assure states, school districts, and schools that courses complying with the principles will be high-quality courses that effectively get students to meet academic goals. The principles are also intended to ensure that the characteristics…

This legal document presents the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case brought against the University of Michigan's use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions. In Gratz et al. v. Bollinger et al., the Court held that while race is one of a number of factors that can be considered in undergraduate admissions, the automatic…

Oregon's Education Act for the 21st century sets academic and performance standards for all students statewide. The implementation of statewide standards entails a major change from a time-based to a standards-based educational system, and will require that all students achieve the performance standards for each curricular area. This report to the…

Noting that all parents want the best school experience for their children, this booklet, presented in both English and Spanish, offers parents specific strategies to provide their children a good foundation for beginning reading. The guide first answers the question, "How Can I Help My Child Be Ready To Read and Ready To Learn?" with emergent…

The Intersegmental Committee of Academic Senates (ICAS) for the California Community Colleges undertook this study to assess the degree of use, effectiveness, and awareness of Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC). IGETC was adopted in 1991 by the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the…

Students' ability to use self-regulatory learning skills is becoming increasingly important with the advent of World Wide Web-based learning. Online courses delivered through the Web require students to take more ownership over how and when learning takes place, rather than tutors and lecturers making these decisions. This comes at a time when…

This paper examines the possibility of technology supporting and facilitating the organization and development of knowledge in a particular field through critical discourse. The following three examples of discourse-structuring technologies have been investigated to determine whether selected software might support critical discourse to capture…

Large socioeconomic and ethnic disparities exist in college admissions. This paper demonstrates that by systematically accounting for the effect of socioeconomic circumstance on pre-college achievement, colleges can substantially reduce these disparities. A conceptual model distinguishes students' realized achievement from their underlying ability…

This document represents BCCAT's position on instructor qualifications within the BC Transfer System. These concern: (1) BC Transfer System Instructor Qualification Standards; and (2) Establishing and Monitoring Expectations.

Informed by theory and research in inquiry-based classrooms, this paper examines how classroom practices support students' understanding of decimals. Data from a six-month teaching experiment, based on the work of Moss and Case's (1999) use of percentages and metric measure as visible representations for students' emerging understanding of…

During the 1993-1994 academic year, Purdue University Calumet, Indiana, (PUC) developed and implemented a comprehensive portfolio assessment plan for preservice teachers that emphasized professional standards and the Education Department's preservice goals. In 1994, PUC implemented the plan with students considering entrance into teacher…

This paper reviews the history of how trustees are selected to boards of public institutions of higher education and offers specific recommendations to improve the selection process. The paper notes a trend toward an overall decline in the effectiveness of boards and reports that the major factor identified in several recent analyses is the…