The author examines previous efforts to establish certifying examinations for high school students and their effects on curriculum and students, particularly minorities. Also, to introduce readers to the rest of this theme issue on testing, he briefly discusses test validity, cutoff scores, and effects on teachers. (SJL)

Test scores are being used for a variety of inappropriate purposes, often to the detriment of minorities. This article recounts recent evidence on misuse of testing, offers strategies for preventing abuse, and urges professionals to take on active roles in preventing misuse of their wares. (LMO)

Current conflicts over test bias and "truth-in-testing" reflect differing aims of education and the increasingly important social role of testing in our society. (Author)

Reasons to de-emphasize testing as a means of assessing teacher quality are offered in this paper. The following questions pertinent to teacher testing are asked: (1) Granted that teacher education is now attracting low caliber students, can the testing movement reverse the trend? (2) Is it justifiable to determine, and even predict, the quality…

The concepts of competency can be conceptually separated into two dimensions: minimum competency testing (MCT) and competency based education (CBE). One of the major weaknesses of the MCT movement is the growing reliance on single test scores as indicators of the total capability of students. Minorities do not reject the idea of competence, but…

Most of the arguments lodged against minimum competency testing are really observations about the abuses of testing. Blacks and other minority groups are understandably mistrustful of recent developments in minimum competency testing--possible grounds for legal challenges include the adequacy of the phase-in periods; the match between tests and…

This paper discusses two examples of federal agencies which administer laws fundamental to the protection and advancement of the educational interests of minority children: the Office for Civil Rights, and the Division of Education for the Disadvantaged. Provisions of these laws can be construed as protective standards which may provide the major…

Recognizing the lack of public confidence in the schools, public officials and educators should discuss the proper use and limitations of competency testing and the implementation of national tests. Competency tests should be used for diagnosis, for certifying that students possess basic skills, and for public awareness. They should not be the…

Educational testing and its uses have come under increasing criticism as they are used more and more for decision making--to determine student tracking assignments, college admission, personnel selection, and licensing policies. The papers from this conference, which discussed the major issues in testing, include: (1) Testing: A Parent's Point of…