The authors critique legal arguments which have been used by attorneys, especially Merle S. McClung of the Center for Law and Education, in opposing minimum competency testing programs in the schools. The arguments mainly concern the 14th Amendment, racial discrimination, and the denial of due process. (SJL)

Legal issues of minimum competency testing derive from federal and state constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, and from common law. Constitutional provisions for equal protection, due process, and freedom of belief and privacy, are primarily federal; education provisions are state mandated. Only four court cases have directly…

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…