Every state in the United States, under the NCLB act, has set state standards and is testing all students in grades 3-8. Students are given printed questions to which they write answers with a pencil on an answer sheet. These written tests are usually given to determine the academic achievements of students. This paper traces the early history of…

Education is the key to young people becoming full partners in shaping a global future and in shaping the nation's future. Quality basic education for young people is key to maintaining Alberta's standard of living and ensuring competitiveness in the world market. The education system must focus on what all students need to learn and be able to…

Although over half of the states in the United States have implemented minimum competency testing (MCT) programs, problems continue to be reported by researchers. Educators have been concerned with these problems since the beginning of MCT. Accounts of testing problems include: (1) Durham, North Carolina students who fail the state-mandated test…

Examines the policies involved in promotion and retention of students in South Carolina and other states. Recommends alternatives to retention and considerations for policy development. Includes a discussion of legal issues, a list of six recommendations, and a reference list. (MD)

Briefly describes a comprehensive reading program based on the ideas of mastery learning. (Author/JM)

Competency testing is only one component of competency-based education (CBE); the others are: educational objectives, instructional process, remedial instruction, and program evaluation/reconceptualization. To implement only competency testing may result in disillusionment with the entire concept of CBE, which seeks to improve programs, not fail…

The Durham Public Schools Communities in Schools (CIS) Academy provides a student-centered environment that encourages high-risk students to remain in school and get back on track for graduation. Program operations began in January 1995. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the first semester of operations (the second semester of…

A practical application of the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) is illustrated in the evaluation of the District of Columbia Public Schools' Student Progress Plan. The plan adheres to the principle that the student be encouraged to move along an instructional continuum at his or her individual rate. The Division of Research and…

This report describes the performance goals established for Tennessee school systems in accordance with the Education Improvement Act (EIA) adopted in 1992. The report also describes the initiatives undertaken to assist school systems in achieving those goals. Prepared by the State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education, this report…

The Secondary Student Status Survey, Part Two, consists of various sub-surveys that are significant as individual studies and as basic material for other related sub-surveys and essential to a total core of data concerning the "product" of the school system. The core of data consists of pertinent statistics, research findings, and…

Delineates three distinct but overlapping functions of kindergarten: (1) to minister to the nature and needs of four- to six-year-olds; (2) to look forward to the nature and needs of children as they develop through the sixth year; and (3) to look backward to experiences and learning in the home. (NH)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 established a requirement that all states develop and submit to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) a performance plan designed to advance the state from its current level of compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the law…

This is the final report of an annual Mississippi study, conducted for the first time in February of 1984, which provides baseline data for measuring improvement of school practices in key arenas. Its primary goals were to identify the extent to which children master one level of course work before being advanced to the next level, to determine…

Rate of retention in grade is a measure of the number of students who repeat the grade they were in the year before. This report of retention rates is produced annually for the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, but contains information produced after the beginning of the school year and data produced at the end of the school year…