The present organization and structure of teacher education institutions in the Netherlands is described, and the content of programs to train teachers of modern languages is outlined. Educational changes which took place during the past decade are described, and plans for future innovations are discussed. (Author/PP)

A judicial decision on issues raised by state diploma denial found that competency testing of Florida's high school students as a graduation requirement violated due process by not providing students with adequate notice. The court prescribed some degree of curricular validity to determine whether the test covered materials actually taught.…

Presents a case-study of the role of educational professionals in the passage of California's mandatory graduation competency legislation. Findings showed that the bill was noncontroversial despite its implications. Professional educators and scholars played a limited role in its formation. (AM)

In addition to stigmatizing and prejudicing the future of young people, the denial of a high school diploma based on test scores represents a waste of public funds and human resources. In recent years, however, the educational system has been increasingly concerned with testing school children rather than teaching them. (Author/GC

Despite demonstrated success of a graduation competency testing policy in Tatnall County (Georgia), a judge ruled that the policy violated due process because the school district could not show that the items on the test were actually taught in the schools. (WD)

Examines the possibility of legal challenges to minimum competency tests on the grounds that they violate freedom of expression (including the right to remain silent), privacy, and substantive due process guarantees. Available from the Catholic University Law Review, Catholic University of America School of Law, Room 1 Washington, D.C. 20064; sc…

College diplomas are seen as not necessarily representing academic achievement, but the fact that a student has sat through enough courses to accumulate sufficient credits for graduation. A case is made for 10 measures of achievement to serve as a basis for graduation. (Article originally published in 1937.) (AF)

This paper attempts to assess the validity of employers' complaints about the mathematical shortcomings of school leavers and discusses implications of the findings. (MK)

Within the next decade it will be the rare school system which does not provide flexible graduation programs for all students. Describes initial attempts to develop early graduation and current research on opinions about its effectiveness as well as school policy on its practice. (Author/RK)

Comparison of state graduation requirements found significant differences in the exit documents awarded to students with disabilities, with similar requirements sometimes earning different types of exit documents in different states. It was also found that 44 states use Carnegie course unit requirements and 17 states have minimum competency…

Examined African American male students' transition to high school, comparing gender differences in achievement from 8th-12th grades by using data from a longitudinal study in Chicago. In 8th grade, there were few gender differences in achievement or teachers' ratings of students' behaviors and skills. However, males had more significant declines…

Compares segmentation modeling and logistic regression with regard to a longitudinal study of graduation rates at Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute. Suggests that segmentation modeling is as effective as the regression techniques in terms of predictive ability, but that segmentation modeling offers a distinct advantage in…

Tracked five cohorts of first-year students for 6 years to determine how many, by gender and race, were academically suspended, how many of those returned, and of those who returned, how many graduated. Found that a greater percentage of males than females and Black than White students were academically suspended. Minority males were the most…

Provides data on the availability of and enrollment in public alternative schools and programs for at-risk students, entrance and exit criteria, staffing, curriculum services, and collaboration. Findings are based on a questionnaire completed by representatives of 1,534 public school districts. Part of the Fast Response Survey System. (SLD)

Studied prediction of college freshman performance and graduation in U.S. colleges by examining aggregated data at the institutional level for 1,429 4-year institutions. Results suggest that persistence to graduation as a characteristic of student populations at a college can be predicted better than persistence at the individual level at a given…