This paper specifies the assessment of those spelling skills that are needed for effective writing by students in grades one through six. An introductory section provides background materials, including explanations of how the skill specifications were selected and how they are presented in this report. In the sections that follow the…

The Degrees of Reading Power Test was developed to address some existing problems in testing comprehension. The test design reflects the need to consider problems of passage dependency, difficulty of questions, tests for continuous text, and sensitivity to gains. It emphasizes a set of response options controlled for familiarity, a text that is…

A study was designed to identify highly teachable composing skills that have a strong statistical relationship with composition quality across various grade levels. Sample compositions were randomly selected from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (1972). A total of 750 compositions written by 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old-students (250…

Intended to help secondary school students prepare for the New York Board of Regents competency tests in writing, this manual will enable students to use writing for effective communication of their needs and enjoyment of the pleasure of permanent self-expression. The first portion of the manual provides several introductory lessons and writing…

Recognizing the rapid establishment of the computer as a routine instrument of instruction, this guide demonstrates with lesson outlines and materials the many ways in which English and/or computer literacy teachers can use microcomputers to teach RCT (Regents Competency Test) English Writing Practice topics. Front matter consists of a foreword,…

The efforts of researchers to produce a pool of approximately 30 validated and field-tested topics for use in future administrations of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination in writing are reviewed in this paper. Various sections of the paper (1) describe the procedures followed; (2) explain the reasons for making certain important…

Discussing the established legislation and background behind the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, this document outlines reading test specifications for third and fifth grade. It gives specifications for grades three and five on Reading Passages, Readability, Test Conditions, and Test Forms. Two sections are devoted to details for each grade…

Item specifications developed by the Arkansas Department of Education as part of the Minimum Performance Testing Program (MPT) appear in this document. Specifically, the social studies materials given to sixth-grade students on the MPT are included. The purpose of an item specification is to provide an overview of the general content and format of…

This booklet contains selected proceedings of the 1979 conference entitled "Competency Testing and Beyond: Improving Student Writing" held in Albany, New York. Topics covered in the 17 selections are: the "real" world and the teaching of English, what has been learned about competency testing in writing, the composing process, diagnosing student…

This paper specifies the assessment of those mechanics skills-handwriting, capitalization, punctuation, formats--that are needed for effective writing by students in grades one through six. An introductory section provides background materials, including explanations of how the skill specifications were selected and how they are presented in the…

This experimental curriculum bulletin, published by the Board of Education of the City of New York, contains lists of mathematics performance objectives necessary for pupil competency at each level (K-9). A short introduction explaining how the objectives should and should not be used, and a memorandum to community school board presidents,…

Describes the work of the Speech Communication Association Task Force on Minimal Speaking and Listening Competencies for High School Graduates and provides recommended minimal speaking and listening competencies and implications for further curriculum development and research. (JMF)

Along with its companion teacher's guide, this student study text teaches writing skills needed to pass the New York Regents Competency Test (RCT) in Writing, using the computer as an instrument of instruction. The guide is arranged in three sections that match the tasks required on the RCT Writing Test: (1) The Business Letter; (2) The Report;…

Item specifications developed by the Arkansas Department of Education as part of the Minimum Performance Testing Program (MPT) appear in this document. Specifically, the social studies materials given to eighth-grade students on the MPT are reviewed. The purpose of an item specification is to provide an overview of the general content and format…

This booklet by a committee appointed to assess the teaching implications of the Reading and Writing tests of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) is intended to provide ways of helping teachers assist students to improve their skills in reading and writing by, in part, pinpointing the major weaknesses of students taking…