Demonstrates how the legal, educational, and technical determination of adequacy is a process of social construction. Identifies the social values of accountability, responsibility, and community as underpinning the societal consensus building around the concept of a "minimally adequate education." At present, educational reform does not…

Discusses the significant growth in the number of adults with disabilities pursing postsecondary education, the professionalization of postsecondary disability services, the changes in services available to students with disabilities in postsecondary education, and suggestions to improve personnel preparation related to the transition to…

Discusses the development and implementation of the low-vision-therapist certification through the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Credentials for professionals in low vision are described, along with required written examination, and the role of the low-vision therapist. (CR)

Assessment and learning are two sides of the same coin (Ramsden, 1992, Biggs, 1999) and their relationship has also been likened to the participants in a three-legged race (Harding & Craven, 2001). The aim of this article is to explore the potential of e-assessment to provide solutions to some of the challenges for e-learning. Drawing on…

The Developmental Studies Department (DSD) at Rockland Community College (RCC), in Suffern, New York, provides courses and services to assist students lacking college-level skills in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, and English. An additional pilot project, the RCC/Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) has…

The majority of middle school teachers are prepared in either generalist elementary programs or subject-specific secondary programs, yet researchers and teacher educators have little understanding of the ways in which these divergent pathways prepare teachers for working at the middle school level. In this study, preservice teachers from an…

The influence of anchor length on the accuracy of test equating was studied using Tucker's linear method and two Item-Response-Theory (IRT) based methods, focusing on whether equating accuracy improved with more anchor items, whether the anchor effect depended on the equating method used, and the adequacy of the inclusion of the guessing parameter…

Although the competency based assessment "movement" has undergone intense examination and much change, the concept of the competent communicator and the difficulties associated with measuring such proficiencies remain. The progression of terminology used in the literature reflects that what began as lists of skills to be tested so that…

This digest examines the tenets of outcome-based education (OBE), outlines some of its primary criticisms and challenges, and describes successful OBE models implemented in various school districts. Outcome-based education (OBE) is one model for restructuring currently being examined nationwide. In contrast to traditional educational practices…

The essays contained in this document, which launches the University of Georgia Education Initiative, attempt to address Georgia's need for increased literacy in realistic and constructive terms. Taken together, these essays constitute an agenda for action--a challenge to all those who wish to provide Georgians with the quality education they…

Developing A CurriculUM (DACUM) is an approach to job/occupational analysis. The profile chart that results from DACUM analysis is a low-cost, effective method of quickly determining what tasks must be performed by employees in a given job or occupational area. The DACUM analysis can be used as a basis for the following: curriculum development;…

This study concerns the goals of school mathematics in the curricula of African schools. Concerns about the state of mathematics education are noted: not only is achievement declining, but also there has been (1) a student population explosion, so that goals formulated two decades ago are no longer applicable, and (2) rapid growth of informatics…

This paper examines the major issues to be faced and the decisions to be made in the development and administration of basic competency tests used for the certification of teachers. The focus is on the use of competency tests as criteria in determining the initial certification of teachers, as differentiated from the ongoing observation and…

The purpose of this paper was to ascertain in some measure the direction teacher testing may take in the Pacific Area states other than Guam and Hawaii. Guam and Hawaii have installed teacher testing programs and have clearly established certification requirements that make it mandatory for teacher applicants to have baccalaureates. The other…

Although over half of the states in the United States have implemented minimum competency testing (MCT) programs, problems continue to be reported by researchers. Educators have been concerned with these problems since the beginning of MCT. Accounts of testing problems include: (1) Durham, North Carolina students who fail the state-mandated test…