This paper explores common concerns about competency testing as they relate to the certification of high school graduates seeking a diploma in the United States. Competency testing is widespread in the United States, with 40 states engaged in competency testing in at least one grade. In general, and particularly for graduation requirements, the…

This guide is designed for educators involved in teaching, developing curriculum, or counseling students. It describes six new forms used to report the results of 10th-grade student performance on the Florida State Student Assessment Test, Parts I and II (SSAT-I and -II): (1) Parent Report, SSAT-I; (2) Student Report, SSAT-I; (3) Student Report,…

A review of functional literacy testing in the United States from 1955-82 is provided by summarizing the results of literacy assessment studies and synthesizing the major issues which they have engendered. These reviews are grouped with respect to content, criterion-related, and construct validity. The paper concludes by (1) summarizing some of…

Characteristics that distinguish criterion-referenced tests from their norm-referenced counterparts are discussed, including: the purposes that they are designed to serve; the characteristics of the types of items that they contain; and the manner in which they are developed. More specifically, the distinguishing characteristics include: reference…

This paper summarizes the results of a study of the local consequences of implementing statewide minimum competency tests. For American education to be the best in the world, the use of statewide and nationwide standardized testing as a primary policy tool for stimulating reform must be discontinued. Second, school district responses to such…

Past research on the effects of Minimum Competency Tests (MCT) on teaching and learning is reviewed, and the large database of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is used to shed more light on these effects. There seems to be little doubt that MCT, together with associated changes in instructional methods, has produced some…

An introduction by Barbara S. Plake and Joseph C. Witt defines the task of this book as presenting nine conference papers discussing probable directions for the field of measurement and testing. In an effort to contribute to the improvement of test construction and test usage, areas of present concern and potentially important areas for the future…

This report is designed to provide the Norwalk (Connecticut) Board of Education and the entire school community with the status of the school system testing program for the spring of 1987. From May 6 through May 15, the system administered the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBSs) and the Test of Cognitive Skills (TCS) to 5,113 students in…

State-mandated student testing in Ohio is a combination of three different initiatives: (1) competency-based education (CBE) assessment; (2) achievement and ability testing; and (3) proficiency testing. This report describes the current testing requirements and some of the characteristics of each of these types of assessment. CBE assessment was…

California, in response to pessimism about the efficacy of public education, adopted the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST), a three-part test of reading, writing, and mathematics required of teacher applicants. This paper takes a critical look at the genesis, passage, implementation, and consequences of the CBEST legislation. In…

The purpose of this paper, which is drawn from a larger analytic history of the National Teacher Evaluation (NTE) program, is to investigate issues of validity within the context of the program's 50-year history. Three major findings emerge from historical considerations relating to: (1) the continuity of test content and justification over the…

This report, mandated by Ohio's 119th General Assembly, examines the fairness and appropriateness of the state's ninth-grade proficiency test. Under the assumption that it is indeed fair and appropriate to have a single, statewide graduation standard for all students, the study focuses on the issue of whether the test, as developed and…

In this article, the authors describe various rationales for accountability testing programs over the past century. This history forms the backdrop for current test-driven reforms, including Public Law 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), which was signed into law in January 2002. The goals of the authors are first, to illustrate…