This paper considers three areas related to the testing of minimum knowledge and skills: public policy, the nature of higher-order thinking and selected aspects of educational measurement. The discussion of public policy issues centers around an apparent dichotomy of egalitarianism and elitism in public education, schooling and the public economy,…

A major provision of the South Carolina Education Improvement Act of 1984 established the requirement for a high school exit examination (HSEE) for all 10th-grade students. Passage of the HSEE is a condition for the receipt of a state high school diploma. The HSEE is an outgrowth of the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program, which…