This publication brings together statements concerning the minimum knowledge and skills objectives in alcohol and other drug abuse determined by the professional organizations of six medical specialties: pediatrics; emergency medicine; obstetrics and gynecology; psychiatry; general internal medicine; and family medicine for undergraduate,…

The report describes a 2-year Texas project which identified academic competencies needed by first-year college students in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking. Presentations at conferences and educational meetings brought the competencies and their implications to the attention of over 300 Texas educators. Additional…

A full report is presented of testimony on teacher preparation given by witnesses before the subcommittee on postsecondary education. Included are the remarks and prepared statements of the following witnesses: (1) Marie D. Eldridge, Administrator of the National Center for Education Statistics, who discussed survey data on making teacher…

Speech communication teachers at both secondary and postsecondary school levels must cooperate to improve oral communication education. Despite the importance of oral communication skills, speech courses are rarely required in high school. Teachers must tell school boards, higher education boards, and faculties of the importance of speaking and…

Chandler (Arizona) High School has reported a dramatic increase in student achievement levels since implementing a number of management, curriculum, and discipline policy changes. Among the program changes that contributed to these gains are: (1) creation of a positive school environment, with high expectations for teachers, emphasis on high…

The study reports achievement data over four school years (1978-82) from standardized tests administered to approximately one million students per year in the state of Indiana. The reports show the percent of students performing in each of three bands of stanines--1,2,3; 4,5,6; 7,8,9. Representative grades from primary, intermediate,…

Seventeen thousand Marylanders affirmed the importance of specific citizenship competencies as graduation requirements. This was the finding when the Maryland State Department of Education surveyed citizens to answer the question of what competencies should be taught in the public schools. The citizenship competencies were approved as graduation…

This annotated bibliography contains 44 references, dated from 1976 to 1989, intended for educators concerned with assessment of basic speaking and listening skills, with particular emphasis on minimal competency testing and basic skills improvement programs. The materials cited do the following: (1) assess broad assessment issues; (2) review a…

A study investigated the effect of kindergarten class size on reading readiness achievement. Subjects, 2,837 kindergarten students in 38 elementary schools that serve rural, urban, suburban, and inner-city schools, participated in the first year of Project STAR (Student Teacher Academic Ratio) in 1985-86. The subjects' 140 kindergarten teachers…

Aspects of proposed higher education reforms that involve assessment of students learning are clarified by the president of the Educational Testing Service. Governors and state legislators are advised not to adopt state minimum competency standards for higher education. It is claimed that the responsibility for setting instructional standards and…

The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) test was administered to pupils in grade 1 for the first time, at state level, in April 1986. Students with certain disabilities and those with limited English proficiency were exempted from this testing cycle. This 84-item test measured 21 objectives: 8 for mathematics, 9 for reading, and…

These combined proceedings summarize presentations of two conference programs designed to address state-mandated student achievement issues. Dr. Terrel Bell delivered the keynote speech at a teleconference focusing on a broad perspective of competency testing. He discussed testing problems, as well as positive aspects such as comparison, diagnosis…

One in a series of publications on Illinois' State Goals for Learning, this report identifies what students are expected to know in the biological and physical sciences by the time they complete their elementary and secondary education. A sample set of learning objectives is provided to assist districts in the development of their own objectives.…

A study was conducted to assess the reliability of the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) for the major ethnic groups in Florida; and to develop a standard error of measurement for the critical group that fell close to the cut score on each test. The October 1983 and March 1984 administrations of the CLAST were analyzed to determine…

The Learning Assessment Retention Consortium of the California Community Colleges distributed two questionnaires to all 108 California community colleges to determine practices related to academic standards and matriculation. Study findings, based on responses from 68 colleges to the academic standards survey and 70 colleges to the matriculation…