The Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) required that all students who graduated in 1985-86 and previous years have skills in reading and mathematics equivalent to ninth-grade level or above. Special education students who could not be validly tested were exempted from the requirements. Students who had not met the requirements could…

Prior to the Virginian Standards of Learning Program most curriculum guidance was provided by the Board of Education through course requirement in-service sessions and through legislative action on mandated topics. The Standards of Learning Program gave Virginia teachers primary responsibility for establishing minimum competencies and assessment…

A study examined the characteristics that might be shared among tenth and eleventh grade students who fail the "New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Test" (MBS) in reading. The scores of 15 students in the graduating classes of 1986 and 1987 who had failed to attain the minimum score of 75 prior to remedial instruction were studied. The…

Minimal competency testing of students can be an effective tool for improving educational quality if applied appropriately with adequate safeguards. The failure of academic standards through grade inflation, a policy of social promotion rather than academic promotion, and weak curricula has reduced public confidence in education and encouraged…

This study investigated the feasibility of the use of the three-parameter item response theory (IRT) model in Florida's minimum competency testing program. The paper includes the following sections: (1) a description of the procedures currently being used by the assessment program, with an emphasis on procedures currently involving the Rasch…

Designed to be a tool for curriculum and instructional development consistent with assessment of the state objectives in reading, this teaching and testing guide provides a summary of the skills that should be considered instructionally and how each objective is tested. Information is included on state objectives for reading teachers for grades 4,…

A teacher certification testing program was mandated by the 1980 Oklahoma Legislature in HB 1706. The bill calls for a general upgrading of the teaching profession through more stringent teacher preparation programs, uniformity of training, and a concomitant improvement of salaries to reflect the healthy economy of Oklahoma. A central focus of the…

The Arkansas Educational Assessment Program (AEAP) was initiated in 1979 when the Arkansas legislature passed Act 666, the Education Assessment Act. AEAP provides meaningful data on student achievements to educators, legislators, parents and citizens on the status and progress of Arkansas basic skills education. This information assists schools in…

This manual is written for the individual responsible for choosing the passing score on an educational or occupational test. It concentrates on practical advice to help select and apply a method for choosing the passing score. Decisions, standards, and judgments are defined and discussed in terms of considerations in choosing a passing score…

Based upon prior research in the College of Business and Public Administration and the first year of the university testing program at an upper division, midwestern university, implications for testing of older transfer students are drawn. Students should be tested before, or during, their first term of academic history. If remediation is not…

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the context and process by which the Board adopted a policy, came to question that policy, and ultimately rescinded that policy, while maintaining legitimacy within its environment. In 1977, the Board of Directors of a large urban school district adopted a policy establishing successful…

The Basic Skills Testing program in Louisiana was implemented due to a legislative mandate for minimum competency testing. The program began in grade two, adding a grade each year through grade twelve. Basic Skills Tests are being phased in to replace State Assessment. State Assessment will continue in the areas of science, social studies, and…

A study was conducted to assess the impact of the Florida State Student Assessment Test (FSSAT) (Functional Literacy Test) on the enrollment in secondary-level vocational education courses. The 67 school districts in Florida were grouped according to population density into three levels of urbanization (low, medium, and high). Ten percent of the…

Presented is a collection of reports on the status of competency-based mathematical education in the schools of 25 countries, and is the culmination of five years' work by the International Study Group on Minimal Competencies in Mathematics. Most reports summarize the trends and prevailing opinions about curricular implications of emphasis on…

In an examination of the implications and effects of the competency testing movement on the discipline of English, the six chapters of this book answer major questions concerning what competency in English is, what is known about the assessment of competence in English, and how minimal competency in English can be defined and assessed. The first…