The Test of Essential Learning and Literacy Skills (TELLS) has been administered to all Pennsylvania students in grades 3, 5, and 8 since 1985. An analysis of results from the 1,505 public elementary schools that served both third and fifth graders between 1986 and 1990 show that in 150 of these schools more than 50 percent of the students scored…

This monograph briefly describes state legislation and administrative rules concerning competency-based education. Defeated legislation is also included. In 1978-79 California, Nevada, and New York are requiring graduating seniors to pass a proficiency exam before receiving a diploma. In Nevada and New York similar exams are administered to…

Discussed are the procedures implemented in the Orleans Parish Schools in response to the Louisiana state-mandated promotional testing program (Act 750, 1979), and concerns regarding its value. Recent findings raise fundamental questions about whether an exclusively skills-focused curriculum in the early years provides the needed grounding in…

Competency based education (CBE) programs can increase pupil motivation, provide the opportunity to individualized instruction, and enable the school to communicate better to the pupil and the public what pupils are learning in school, according to the author. But he lists eight traps that lie hidden in the CBE movement, including further…

A workshop attended by faculty members from three Florida junior colleges and one university was held in response to legislation requiring students to demonstrate minimum communications and computation skills before entering upper division programs. General conclusions reached during the workshop focused on the value of competency testing in…

As part of Louisiana's minimum competency program, the Basic Skills Test (BST) was administered in grades 2 through 5. Student promotion rates in these grades between 1980 and 1985 were examined. Results showed that, in all four grades, the percentage of students retained to repeat the grade increased slightly. The BST was the main, but not the…

The longitudinal effects of Louisiana's Compensatory/Remedial Program upon student performance were assessed using data from four administrations of the Basic Skills Test (BST) between 1982 and 1985. Language arts and mathematics tests were administered in grades 2 through 5. Scores increased slightly between 1982 and 1984, and declined in 1985;…

These papers were presented at the symposium "Using Statewide Basic Skills Tests to Make Promotion Decisions: Political and Psychometric Issues." The development of basic skills testing and the legislative mandate that needed to be implemented for minimum competency testing in Louisiana are discussed by Hugh I. Peck. Rebecca S. Christian…

Update VI provides an overview of federal and state legislation regarding minimal competency requirements for graduation and promotion as well as state department of education activities and local district programs in this area, from 1975 through June 1, 1977. Twenty-four states had introduced 67 bills related to this topic up to this date. While…