The issue of minimal competency testing for high school graduation and grade to grade promotion as a method of emphasizing the teaching of basic skills and guaranteeing that the high school diploma will "mean something" has received widespread legislative attention in recent years. In this report, data pertaining to the enforcement of minimal…

This report was compiled to serve as a reference on assessments of achievement in pre-college mathematics. Patterns of mathematical assessments are discussed in terms of the history and nature of assessments of achievement, the relationship between assessment and minimum competency testing, and the current status of state assessment programs.…

The Vermont Basic Competency Program is described, and its assessment results are reported for its second year of implementation. Data were collected on students in Vermont who were born in 1963, who are in the high school class of 1981 (which will be the first class to require mastery of 51 basic competencies for graduation), and who have already…

The results of a survey of 14 Minnesota school districts on the participation of students with disabilities in the Basic Standards Exams are examined in this report. Findings indicate that all 14 districts had at least 50 percent of all eligible students with disabilities participate in the April 1996 testing cycle. Ten districts indicated they…

This report discusses the results of two surveys that investigated the participation of students with limited English proficiency (LEP) in Minnesota's Basic Requirements Exams. In the first survey, 13 school districts answered questions about the participation of students with LEP in Minnesota's Basic Standards Tests. Ten of the districts reported…

The desire for a national picture of educational quality remains a continuing but unresolved goal. A question has been raised among high level policymakers regarding the feasibility of using existing data collected by the states to construct education indicators for state-by-state comparisons of student performance at the national level. A…

Results of the second year of the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Tests in reading and mathematics, mandated by the New Jersey Public School Education Act of 1975, are summarized. Approximately 397,000 students in grades three, six, nine, and eleven were tested. Results of the tests showed that a smaller percentage of sixth-grade students met…

This study surveyed special education teachers teaching eighth and ninth grade students in 27 Minnesota school districts to determine how decisions were made on the inclusion of children with disabilities in the 1997 administration of Minnesota's Basic Standards Test and what accommodations were provided and desired. Analysis of the 259 responses…

A survey was conducted in Massachusetts in October-November 1978, to determine the public's attitude toward the educational objectives proposed as part of the state's Basic Skills Improvement Policy. The objectives involved standards for graduation from high school, and covered reading, writing, listening, speaking, and mathematics. Three samples…

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…

The results are presented of the validation study of reading and mathematics criterion referenced tests, administered to South Carolina students in grades 3, 6, and 8. This testing was mandated by state law to field test a competency based assessment program. The study was based on three activities: (1) test selection; (2) content validation; and…