Subject-area faculty and students who had just completed an introductory course at an inner-city, four-year college were surveyed to determine the reading and reading-related tasks most needed in their courses. Textbooks used in these courses were analyzed for organizational features and study aids. Results indicated an interrelationship among the…

The five chapters in this document, contributed by consultants who served as teacher trainers at the July 1976 Adult Basic Education Institute at Tennessee State University, include articles, materials, opinions, and bibliographies. Topics are metrication in adult education instruction; teaching the Indo-Chinese refugee; preparing controlled…

This document presents an analysis of state legislation enacted and proposed in 1976 related to community and junior colleges. Data for this analysis were obtained from two sources--personal replies to a survey of state directors of community and junior colleges, and actual legislative documents from the states. Following an introductory section,…

A new approach to general education at Bowling Green State University based on "essential skills and functional understandings" is discussed. The model includes skills in: problem solving and critical thinking; reading and writing; computation and mathematics; listening and speaking; and decision-making and values-conflict resolution.…

Looks at the Central Technical Community College (CTCC) in Hastings, Nebraska which has developed institutionwide individualized instruction, utilizing a self-paced, competency-based modular approach, and an open entry/exit system that allows students to enroll and graduate any working day during the school year. (TP)

Competency-based vocational education is based on the following three essentials: specifying job-related tasks in advance, providing instruction in the tasks, and measuring and certifying that students can perform the tasks. This article focuses on measuring and certifying student competencies by addressing several related questions. (BM)

Nontraditional, external degree components of the IPCD (Institute for Personal Career Development) packages are competency based in anticipation of the fulfillment of personal and career objectives rather than for the fulfillment of traditional classroom objectives. (ABM)

Explores such myths as competency-based graduation requirements are a repudiation of humanistic concerns, the public won't accept subjective measures of competence, and requiring students to pass proficiency tests before graduation will increase public support for education. Offers suggestions for developing new kinds of graduation requirements.…

A Vocational Certificate of Completion is given by the Ohio State Department of Education to each vocational student to verify that the student has satisfactorily completed a vocational program. The author describes a plan in the senior stenography program at her high school to match the certificate's employment skill levels with competency-based…

The authors outline the process of generating student proficiency tests, including item generation, pilot testing among students, sampling and testing to tailor proficiency measurement to job market needs, using selected community members as sample test populations, and analysis of test results. (Author/DS)

Three groups of college students operated under different contingencies in the same classroom. The Programmed Achievement (PA) condition required students to show 100 percent mastery on 12 chapter quizzes, at the risk of grade loss. Control students took quizzes with no requirement for mastery, and a group of low achievers tried both methods. The…

One hundred and sixty-three undergraduate seniors rated various aspects of their first experience with a criterion referenced grading system in an educational psychology course. Chi square analyses were used to identify different attitudes between groups across semesters, sex of students, and classes of varying size. (Author/NQ)

An experimental university program in first-year French is described in which a self-instructional, programed text was used. Students proceeded at their own rate and were allowed repeated attempts to meet the minimal requirement of 75 percent mastery. Results indicated a higher level of performance but less material covered. (Author/RM)

A survey of teachers, students, administrators, and parents in Georgia shows a wide diversity of opinion regarding the levels of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and arithmetic skills that should be required for high school graduation. (Author/IRT)

Three ways in which cognitive psychology can apply to the study of performance discrepancies in learning disabled (LD) students are discussed: explaining variance in test performance, focusing on competence, and revealing processing discrepancies when overt performances of LD and non-LD students are similar. (Author/JW)