The purpose of the High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE) is to determine student competency in the areas of reading, English, and mathematics. The HSGQE provides this information in the form of test scores that reflect the essential skills that students should know as a result of their public school experience. The requirement to…

This guide provides information about the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) and Texas end-of-course examinations. It displays and explains examples of the TAAS and end-of-course standard and optional reports to assist school personnel in understanding and interpreting student performance data as required by the Texas Education Code. The…

This document is intended to help teachers prepare students for the "exit exam of essential skills" required by the Student Accountability Standards enacted by the North Carolina State Board of Education. The strategies in this guide are based on two essential premises: following the North Carolina "Standard Course of Study"…

To ensure that students who receive high school diplomas meet basic thresholds of academic proficiency and job readiness, 24 states have adopted exit exams that students must pass to graduate. Opponents of these exams complain that they drive already-low graduation rates downward. They argue that raising the bar for graduation forces many…

The tenth annual report on student assessment in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education is presented as required by the State Regents' "Policy Statement on the Assessment of Students for Purposes of Instructional Improvement and State System Accountability." Each institution must evaluate students at four levels (graduate student assessment…

While Canadians tend to consider the American system to be overly litigious, they are catching up fast. Their own domestic set of plaintiffs is suing the agents of obesity and pollution, but actions pertaining to education seem to be spiking as well. A few of these cases are trivial. This morning's local newspaper reports that a judge has ruled…

During the last twenty years, history educators have noted a sea change in the concern expressed by scholars, policymakers, and the general public about the teaching and learning of history in schools. The 1983 report, "A Nation at Risk", was a catalyst for this movement with its focused attention and support for a core curriculum based…

This study examined the effect of oral administration accommodations on test structure and student performance on the mathematics portion of the South Carolina High School Exit Examination (HSEE). The examination was given at Grade 10 and was untimed. Three groups of students were studied. Two groups took the regular form. One group had recorded…

Highlights a promising innovation, Michigan's college scholarship program for students who perform well on state tests. The scholarships are based on students' performance on an external exam that reflects the state's recommended curriculum. Georgia also has the merit-based Hope scholarship program. (MLF)

One of the frustrations with the basic public-speaking course is that there is an inevitable tendency to teach the old sender-message-context-receiver model of communication. Many of the basic texts use it, and the typical assignments--one speaker in front of an audience--certainly reinforce it. Feminists have envisioned an alternative way of…

The efficiency and effectiveness of the nation's human capital pipeline has become a prime area of focus in the policy arena, spurred on by international data that show the U.S. lagging in high school and college completion. For policymakers, education leaders, and even students and parents, it is becoming increasingly clear that the transition…

This article describes the structure and rationale for an open-book approach in professional accountancy examinations. The concept of knowledge management and the recognition that some knowledge ought to be embedded in the minds of professional accountants while other knowledge ought to be readily accessible and capable of application forms the…

Current and emerging issues concerning the written comprehensive exam process are addressed. Both the purpose and structure of this exam are considered. Survey results are presented that describe the purposes of the exam from the perspective of doctoral coordinators. Also included is a description of how marketing departments are currently…

While Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) have become widely used to assess clinical competence at the end of undergraduate medical courses, the method of setting the passing score varies greatly, and there is no agreed best methodology. While there is an assumption that the passing standard at graduation is the same at all medical…

The goal of the study was to determine the relative competitiveness in gaining access to university of graduates with and without disabilities, and to determine whether the ease with which graduates experienced aspects of their college environment was related to their college exit scores. We found that graduates who responded to surveys, whether…