The competencies, item specifications, and sample items for the reading measures devised for the Wisconsin Competency-Based Testing Program are provided in this booklet. Following lists of reading competencies to be tested for grades three, seven, and ten, the booklet presents guidelines used in preparing the tests and test items; general item…

Standardized tests represent one way of obtaining assessment information. Yet in recent years educators and the public have voiced concerns about an overriding emphasis on tests and test scores. Pressure to "teach to the test" means that not enough time is spent on higher order thinking and literacy skills because minimal competencies…

This curriculum guide for Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) English as a Second Language (ESL) programs lists competencies and resources for ESL and Civics instruction. Section A provides IRCA competency statements for beginning and intermediate levels of ESL instruction which integrate ESL and Civics competencies. The competencies in the…

Intended for the Literacy Coordinators of Alberta, this annotated bibliography reflects the needs of the PROSPECTS Adult Literacy Program clientele; therefore, it does not include resources for native learners and includes only resources available at the PROSPECTS library and the Edmonton Public Schools' adult literacy library. One hundred…

Because of consistent faculty involvement from its earliest stages, the writing assessment program at the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) represents a competent, fair, and useful procedure for the large-scale testing and evaluation of student writing. UMKC's assessment curriculum builds on the existing sequence of three composition…

The implementation of any competency testing program must take into consideration the due process clause and the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Examples of the violation of the due process clause would be to implement a testing program without adequate notice or to cover material not taught. Instructional validity must be…

Described in this paper is a proposal concerning the responsibility of the California community colleges in providing remediation services and programs. The first part of the paper concerns the proposal itself. After a brief statement of the major issues under consideration, the conditions under which student success can be ensured in open access…

The catalogue presents a developmentally sequenced catalogue of objectives for exceptional students. Entries are coded according to major curriculum area (math, language arts, science, social studies, and other skills), grade or level, and Florida minimum student performance standards. The Computer Operated Management of Behavioral Objectives…

The consequences of the minimum competency testing movement may bring into question the basic assumptions, goals, and expectations of our school system. The intended use of these tests is the assessment of students; the unintended consequence may be the assessment of the school system. There are two ways in which schools may fail in the context of…

New legislation in 1972 shifted the emphasis of the California Assessment Program (CAP) from traditional every pupil achievement testing to a more efficient multiple-matrix testing design, under which a broad spectrum of skills could be surveyed without undue expenditure of educational resources. Scale score reporting was introduced to the grade 6…

In 1981, the Faculty Senate, at an upper division midwestern university, initiated the consideration of a literate skills testing program to address variance in academic level of the entering undergraduate student. The policy stipulated that all undergraduate students admitted to a degree program must demonstrate competency in writing and…

A survey of business and industrial training team supervisors and members was undertaken in order to identify the most important entry-level competencies required of instructional development specialists in a variety of business and industrial settings. The study sample of 300 was randomly selected from the approximately 2,850 members of the…

This report describes the procedures followed in scoring the October 1978 Florida Minimal Writing Production Skills Assessment and reports the results of that assessment. The assessment was conducted on a sample of Florida public school students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. Sections include descriptions of the rating scale and scorer's guide as well…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP), a testing program, presents information to determine how successfully children in individual school districts are achieving the minimum basic skills required by South Carolina law. Each year BSAP tests are given to children entering the first grade and to children in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 8,…

This study was designed to investigate the impact of the National Teacher Examination (NTE) Core Battery and Specialty Area tests on the selection of teachers. The areas examined were how states use the NTE Programs Tests; distribution of test takers and test scores by racial/ethnic group; impact of qualifying scores on passing rates of these…