Competency assessment is used for diagnostic purposes at the City University of New York (CUNY) Queens College. CUNY had decided that all students admitted after 1987 be tested. In addition, minimum competencies were required after the completion of 60 credits. Queens College chose to use the tests for entering freshmen for placement decisions,…

Project Basic is a program developed by the Maryland State Department of Education to assure that students attain basic skills in a variety of areas. Two levels of tests are given in grade 7 to monitor progress, and in grades 9 to 12 to determine whether each student has met the state minimum competency level. Students must pass the higher level…

This article is devoted to explaining the use and misuse of standardized tests in adult literacy programs. Among the topics covered on that subject are why the tests are of such interest among adult educators: because the authority vested in these tests can determine the way programs are developed, what is taught, the climate of teaching and…

This handbook contains suggestions for the use of results from the New Mexico High School Proficiencies Examination (NMHSPE) and describes procedures for developing programs and planning intervention strategies. The information and guidelines will facilitate administrative action for program improvement through integration of the NMHSPE results…

An emerging issue in teacher education is the essential knowledge that is a prerequisite to successful pedagogical and subject matter instruction. Skills in communication, both oral and written, and computation are critical areas which must be sufficient for further instruction. This paper addresses the issues of responsibility for developing and…

The Florida Statewide Assessment Program, a result of the Educational Accountability Act of 1971, collects and reports information annually concerning student achievement in the basic skills areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. This publication was prepared for counselors and other school personnel as a resource manual with the following…

A one-parameter latent trait model was the basis of the test development procedures in the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS). Several issues are involved in applying the Rasch model to an assessment program in a large school district. Separate sets of skills continua are arranged by…

The Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) legislation in California mandated a full range of employment-related training and supportive services designed to provide welfare program applicants and recipients with the skills needed to acquire unsubsidized employment through education and training. Tests to assess the basic reading, mathematics,…

Intended for use by school administrators, guidance counselors, teachers and proctors, this manual contains general information on the New York State Regents examinations and competency tests, as well as specific regulations and procedures for ordering, administering, and rating these examinations. The competency testing requirements for a local…

Work Keys (occupational tests developed by American College Testing) could support an employer's human resource function in a number of ways: (1) communicating to educators the skill requirements for an employer's particular jobs on a national basis; (2) providing students with a realistic preview of skills needed for jobs and an assessment of…

The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), here summarized for administrators, are intended to provide information about the skills development of individual students and about relative strengths and weaknesses of the instructional program. The ITBS represents the first comprehensive elementary school and secondary school statewide testing program in…

The Assessment Tools for Adult Education project was designed to provide training and support to staff of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) funded programs to help them use assessment tools and procedures to document the learning gains of the adult students they serve. The following candidate assessment…