The National Consortium on Testing undertook a case study of South Carolina's competency testing program. The Basic Skills Assessment Act (BSAA) passed in 1978 provided for the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP). This program seemed a progressive approach because it is keyed to particular educational objectives. It is being implemented…

Some minimum competency testing programs were created chiefly as a vehicle to improve the quality of basic skills instruction. In these programs, the tests are used to define instructional targets clearly and, thereby, enhance the quality of instruction. Few testing programs have included readability levels in their test specifications. In 1979…

A study examining political and economic issues of the teacher certification movement, focusing on how it affects teacher shortages, presents data regarding the impact of the California Basic Education Skills Test on instructional programs at racially isolated schools. (Author/CB)

A national investigation of the impact of basic skills testing on teacher education students and program content and evaluation indicated that students who lack basic skills are being eliminated from programs, faculty are paying more attention to basic skills in their courses, and changes in support activities have occurred due to test results.…

Given a loss function, an asymptotic method for optimal test design for a specified target population of examinees is presented. Also, of more practical use, given an existing unidimensional test and target population, a way is presented to find the loss function for which the test is optimal. (NSF)

This paper discusses how certain recent technical advances might be extended to examine proficiency tests which are conceptualized as representing a variety of skills with one or more items per skill. In contrast to previous analyses, errors in the item level are included. (Author/BW)

Explored the overall performance of 36 learning disabled (LD) and 40 educable mentally handicapped (EMH) students both before and after modifying the minimum competency test (MCT). Administered the Instructional Objectives Exchange Basic Skill Test: Reading, secondary level to secondary school special education students. Results indicated that LD…

A survey of 1,021 human resource managers found that 35.5 percent test job applicants, promotion candidates, and/or current employees; 22 percent of applicants and 15 percent of employees tested deficient in basic skills; and only 5 respondents spent more than $10,000 on remedial training. (SK)

There has been little examination of multicultural counseling competencies of rehabilitation counselor trainees. The current study examined competency development (knowledge, skills and awareness) of 68 rehabilitation counseling master's degree students across six universities. Results indicate that students did not demonstrate competence in…

The majority of middle school teachers are prepared in either generalist elementary programs or subject-specific secondary programs, yet researchers and teacher educators have little understanding of the ways in which these divergent pathways prepare teachers for working at the middle school level. In this study, preservice teachers from an…

This report offers advice on the issues to be considered and the steps to be taken when implementing a high school graduation test. The research was conducted, specifically, to address problems with Mississippi's high school exit test. An external panel, developed by Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE), reviewed data obtained…

Three studies assessed the psychometric characteristics of the Direct Standard Setting Method (DSSM). The Angoff technique was also used in each study. The DSSM requires judges to consider an examination 10 items at a time and determine the minimum items in that set a candidate should answer correctly to receive the credential. Nine judges set a…

During the fall 1986 administration of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), 980 Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) students took the exam for the first time. Of this group, 71.6% passed, and 28.4% failed one or more CLAST subtests. A study was conducted of the group of students who were required to retake one or more subtests in order…

The results of a follow-up study on local school district development and implementation of minimal competency testing (MCT) programs are reported. Critical questions regarding: (1) motivation and purposes; (2) selection of tests, procedures, and standards; and (3) impact, follow-up, and change are examined. The follow-up study investigated…

This paper compares and contrasts minimum competency testing and transferable skills in order to identify the important questions and issues to be considered by educational planners in developing programs intended to prepare students to meet the demands of both work and life. Each of the seven sections addresses a specific question related to…