Describes the Fluid Power Technology Program at the Hennepin Technical Center in suburban Minneapolis (Minnesota), where students designed a prototype car which they believe will get 75 miles per gallon and cruise at 70 miles per hour. (HD)

Examines the concept of competency-based education, describes an experience-based model for its development, and discusses some empirically derived rules-of-thumb for its application in allied health. (HD)

At the fall 1996 Education Summit, 40 governors and 45 business leaders called for higher student achievement standards. This article provides some historical background for the standards-based education movement and introduces essays exploring the movement from various perspectives. Although some educators remain skeptical, standards-based…

Discusses President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act and addresses the flaws of the program. Addresses the program's focus on student assessments, relationship between assessment and accountability, and mandated assessments for public school. Also discusses how the program does not affect private and religious schools. (MZ)

Describes a study that sought to facilitate curriculum planning by ascertaining the attitudes of library school alumni regarding the value of various competencies in a master's program. Highlights include the possible impact of electronic information on competency, a literature review, competencies rated by type of library, and ratings by…

Critics of vocational education do not recognize its potential to develop outcomes similar to general education. Vocational curriculum should be based on a holistic integrated model of competence, stressing problem solving and workplace learning, that might serve as the model for general curriculum. (SK)

Discusses Utah's competency-based education bill (S.B. 154). Includes graduation requirements, role of local boards, task force charge, alternative teacher certification, state education summit, state board of education role in the bill's implementation. (PKP)

Three mildly retarded 11 year olds were administered reading probes for a period of 4 months, and number of words read correctly were compared to student performance on a criterion-referenced mastery test. Findings questioned whether such probes alone yield sufficient information for making program decisions during the course of instruction.…

Describes a pilot program in which a science essay assignment was the basis for cooperative teaching of research and writing skills to secondary school students. The methods used to address various skills are described and the advantages of including library instruction as part of a teaching continuum are discussed. (11 references) (CLB)

In addition to the benefits of the oral proficiency movement, problems are seen, including flaws in the claim that the testing is proficiency based, the potential misuse of competency-based education, and the Oral Proficiency Interview's inability to test nonlinguistic barriers to communication. (Author/MSE)

A test of pharmacists' practice knowledge, for use in professional continuing education, was developed by having practitioners prepare 673 assessment items related to specific competencies. Item pool was refined by psychometric evaluation and content validation. Two parallel tests, each containing 120 items, were pilot-tested with first-year…

The Center for Individualized Instruction at Jacksonville State University (Alabama) provides individualized courses and services by integrating the Personalized System of Instruction, precision teaching, direct instruction, and computer-based precision learning. The center emphasizes student outcomes and has served over 18,000 students since…

Theories and practices in second-language learning have changed in many ways, particularly toward communicative or proficiency-oriented outcomes. The discussion emphasizes proficiency and performance, communicative objectives, instructional approaches that promote proficiency, and testing and assessment. (Contains 10 references.) (LB)

Reform of undergraduate education will only succeed if undergraduate study is reconceptualized as a process of gaining proficiencies, learning to think critically, and strengthening character traits, not simply taking a series of courses. The college environment must also support this kind of individual development. (MSE)

The purpose and evolution of educational assessment are considered. Alternatives to standardized assessment include performance assessment, authentic assessment, and portfolio assessment. Issues concerning outcomes of the assessment revolution include appropriate standards, associated changes in curricula and grading, and questions regarding…