Core Maths qualifications were introduced into the post-16 curriculum in England in 2014 to help students develop their quantitative and problem-solving skills. Taking the qualification should also give students confidence in understanding the mathematical content in other courses taken at the same time. In this article, we explore whether Core…

Mathematics is one of the fields that has important role in the 21st-century thinking because mathematics involves the process of logical and systematic thinking to solve problems. This makes mathematical competencies need to be developed through learning and integrated into knowledge, skills, and attitudes. When learning has facilitated the…

It is essential that pre-service teacher educators address pre-service teacher numeracy but with careful consideration as it incorporates more than mathematics skills. Numeracy also involves disposition towards mathematics--attitudes, confidence and mathematics anxiety; that is, the level of willingness to use mathematics skills. As part of an…

There is international agreement that quantitative skills (QS) are an essential graduate competence in science. QS refer to the application of mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning in science. This study reports on the use of the Science Students Skills Inventory to capture final year science students' perceptions of their QS across…

Analysis of a 10th grade competency test administered to 2,257 learning disabled students as part of Florida's minimum competency testing program indicated that large numbers of students performed poorly on many items involving basic communication and mathematics. (CL)

Placement tests are rapidly joining the ranks of high-stakes testing and college freshmen are required to take mathematics placement exams to determine their first mathematics course upon entering college. Unfortunately, these exams tend to place students in a lower-level or remedial course. As a result, additional expenses are incurred, degree…

The study compared minimum competency test scores of approximately 1,000 learning disabled Florida tenth graders with those of regular class peers and surveyed 200 employers concerning the perceived importance of the competency test skills. Item performance, skill performance, and mastery scores on the State Student Assessment Test-II (SSAT-II)…

This study compared performance of 300 mildly handicapped and 300 nonhandicapped adolescents on the Florida State Student Assessment Test, Part II, a test measuring functional literacy in math and communication skills. Substantial differences indicate severe consequences for handicapped students forced to pass minimum competency tests to graduate…

A study was conducted at San Jose City College (SJCC) to identify and track 163 new students enrolled in Math 310 over a period of several semesters. Data on the students' competency and persistence rates were collected for fall 1990 and spring 1991, along with subsequent math class enrollments and success rates. Study findings included the…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP), a testing program, presents information to determine how successfully children in individual school districts are achieving the minimum basic skills required by South Carolina law. Each year BSAP tests are given to children entering the first grade and to children in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 8,…

A study was designed to assess the effects of the introduction of a state-mandated minimum competency test (MCT) on students' acquisition of basic and high-level mathematics skills. Subjects of the study were ninth-grade students, all of whom attended the same schools in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, and took the same form of the…

A questionnaire was developed to assess high school principals' attitudes regarding the Tennessee Proficiency Test. The questionnaires were distributed statewide to the 147 public high school principals; 121 principals responded. Questionnaire items dealt with issues such as policy statements, remedial activities, graduation requirements, and…

This paper describes the development of the Basic Educational Skills Test (BEST) in the Austin Independent School District. In 1982 future options for the AISD minimum competency program, which requires all students to meet minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics before graduation, were evaluated against legal and local criteria. It…

The Connecticut Statewide Basic Skills Proficiency Test is required for all ninth-grade students in Connecticut public schools, vocational-technical schools, and endowed or incorporated high schools and academies. The examination covers basic reading, language arts and mathematics skills. Students who score below the level of expected performance…

The Massachusetts Policy on Basic Skills Improvement was formulated to help students master basic skills prior to high school graduation. The aim of this guide is to assist local districts in complying with the policy's requirements for the setting of minimal standards according to levels of achievement students are expected to reach on stated…