Three-fourths of the states have mandated some form of testing. Problems are discussed and practical recommendations about implementation are offered. (Author/MLF)

Outlines five steps that will aid vocational agriculture teachers to implement a competency-based education curriculum. (LRA)

The minimum competency testing issue raises basic questions--who controls public education and what should be taught? (Author)

Suggestions are made for using an understanding of child development to ensure fair and constructive competency testing in the first years of school. (JD)

The Instructional Design and Development Program at Florida State University is described and offered as a role model for other institutions. (Author)

Describes the status of career counseling in the Australian educational system and discusses developments that led to the implementation of the competency-based approach to career educators' education. (JOW)

Describes partner institutes as nonprofit organizations that provide training to member organizations in an industry. Presents a competency-based needs assessment model for assessing training and development needs of the industry, incorporating a variety of data-gathering techniques, eliminating redundancy, and forestalling role conflict. (SK)

Competency-based training (CBT) policy has contributed to the decline of unions in Britain through focus on individual performance, employer-defined nature of standards, narrow scope, and the centrality of flexibility and transferability. CBT has been supported for its ostensibly rational, neutral aspects despite the clear ideological assumptions…

Provides examples of how companies are using the following strategies in innovative ways: knowledge sharing using knowledge-management portals, informal learning, real-time learning, competency-based learning linked to business strategies, calculation of the return on investment in learning, and academic-corporate partnerships. (SK)

Secondary teachers (n=58, 40% response) identified student behaviors for the five affective areas of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report (responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, integrity/honesty). The list of behaviors could provide a foundation for secondary schools implementing…

Interactive videodisc technology (IVD) is an educational tool with enormous potential to help instructors help learners realize their full potential. Anyone who tries IVD is impressed by its power. (A companion article lists where to find information on interactive video.) (Author/JOW)

Task lists created by private companies, consortia, state departments, and universities have caused difficulty for occupational instructors. A careful analysis of task structure shows a continuous hierarchy in cumulative learning, wherein each task becomes part of a whole. A task charting system can improve the efficiency of instruction. (SK)

The article suggests recommended student competencies for students using low vision devices at preschool, elementary, and secondary levels. It also presents an extensive bibliography on low vision aids for special educators. (DB)

Examines the logical and psychological aspects of competency-based staff development programs. Analyzes myths of competency-based learning (CBL) and indicates that incorporating principles of CBL with those of adult learning may be a way to improve staff development programs. (JOW)

The mentor-student relationship of two nurse teachers led to the development of a cyclic model of mentoring. Competencies for teaching nursing were used as a primary learning tool, and the mentor roles of envisioner, standard-prodder, and challenger, as well as the student's motivation, were instrumental in achieving the competencies. (SK)