Florida state legislation has mandated the evaluation of its compensatory education programs. The Florida Accountability Act of 1976 called for minimum basic skills testing in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 (subsequently amended to grade 10). In 1977, the Florida Compensatory Education Act mandated remedial programs for students performing below the…

In an attempt to stimulate discussion on directions and priorities for the California community colleges (CCC), this monograph examines six issues likely to affect the colleges during the 1980's. The monograph first reviews recent literature pointing to an erosion of the colleges' transfer, vocational, and general education functions and then…

The justification of minimal competency programs relative to perceived educational problems, the focus on individual pupil certification and sanctioning, and the lack of clear resolution on many technical problems, give rise to a number of policy issues critical to minimal competency testing programs which are tied to graduation. Three program…

A statwide evaluation study of Adult Basic Education (ABE) in Virginia was conducted during the 1977-78 school year and its findings compared to those of a 1970-71 study. The program factors addressed include the following: actions taken on the 1970-71 recommendations; student personnel services; instructional program; curriculum design; the…

Extensive public concern about the deficiency in basic skills confirmed by a decline in standardized test scores and widespread implementation of a variety of state and local improvement programs indicates an urgent need for national attention to this timely issue. However, a federal testing program or federally-imposed performance standards are…

About half the states in the U.S., either by legislative or administrative action, have moved toward the imposition of statewide performance standards in their elementary and secondary schools. Typically these standards pertain to the basic skills--reading, mathematical computation, and written and oral expression. Almost all of these programs…

Minimim standards and basic skills assessment activities at the federal, state, and local school district level, as of September 1977, are summarized, indicating the broad range and variety that exists nationwide. Minimal competency testing is mandated by law in eleven states: California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New…

This report presents results of a study addressing two questions: (1) the role of certificates, licenses, diplomas, and other creditials in a decentralized vocational education system of public and proprietary schools, community colleges, union apprenticeships, the military, and correspondence schools and (2) the role that certification can play…

Collected in this volume are the papers presented at the 1978 Chief State School Officers Summer Institute. The program was devoted to political issues in education and focused on a number of current educational problems. Political issues were discussed in relation to a number of areas, including federal education priorities, federal-state…

This report of the High School and Beyond (HS&B) study (a national longitudinal study of over 30,000 sophomores and 28,000 seniors enrolled in 1,015 public and private schools) contains nine graphs and 28 tables summarizing data on students' high school experiences, activities outside school, values and attitudes, plans for college, and plans…

This newsletter reports on the activities of Equipped for the Future (EFF), which is a National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) initiative that develops content standards to ensure that every adult can gain the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill real-world responsibilities as workers, parents, and citizens. A message from the NIFL…