The first part of this report is a question-and-answer survey of minimum competency legislation, testing programs, and remedial programs. It includes the questions of both the educator and the lay person. Topics include: minimum competency tests, the debate over minimum competency programs, what happens after testing, and what citizens should look…

Three areas of concern for those considering competency-based graduation requirements are discussed. First, what is involved in implementing a competency-based graduation requirement? The first tasks are the specification of performance standards and the performance skill areas. Then, appropriate certification procedures can be selected, and their…

An achievement testing framework is being developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District to assess the educational progress of 14,000 secondary level compensatory education students with something other than standardized tests. The technique of multiple matrix sampling was applied to the use of large item domains in the subject area of…

Addressing often neglected broad issues, rather than the pragmatics of test development and administration, this Conference on Minimum Competency Achievement Testing was organized around six topics: (1) social and philosophical roots, uniqueness among testing movements, and policy issues; (2) legal, curricular, and social-demographic consequences;…

Assessment instruments for use with adult learners are summarized; findings of a test use survey of 163 California districts serving adult students are given; and management techniques for administering large and small group tests are suggested. Forms for the evaluation of test instruments and for an assessment survey are appended. Tests reviewed…

Abstracts are presented of the major conference papers and thematic discussions delivered at the 1978 Measurement and Methodology Conference. The titles of the presentations are: Policy-Responsive Evaluation (Wiley); When Educators Set Standards (Glass); Comments on Wiley and Glass (Schutz); Key Standard-Setting Considerations for Minimal…

Three themes were addressed at the conference: (1) implications of factor analysis for achievement testing; (2) use of achievement tests in awarding course credits; and (3) extended conceptions of evaluation in higher education. The speeches were entitled: Factors of Verbal Achievement, by John B. Carroll; Schools of Thought in Judging Excellence…

Numerous strategies have been used throughout the years to test cultural groups. This paper grew out of the need to find and use standardized tests that would depict accurately the performance of various cultural groups in America. In order to make judgments about performance, it is wise to examine the theoretical structure from which most of the…

The purpose of this report is to: (1) summarize the attempts that have been made to define and investigate test wiseness, particularly those efforts made at teaching test wiseness; (2) identify gaps and deficiencies in the existing body of research; (3) make recommendations as to the direction that future research in this area should take; and (4)…

Central Midwestern Regional Educational Laboratory, Inc. (CEMREL) analyzed educational computer trends in the CEMREL region. Between 1967-68 and 1968-69, there was roughly a 50% increase in electronic data processing (EDP) installations. Computer and remote terminal installations also increased 50%, but the proportion of computers under school…

Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) protocols were used with at-risk Hispanic female and male adolescents were examined to determine their sensitivity to this population. The SDS was completed by 89 at-risk Hispanic students (49 females and 33 males) in grade 9 at a nontraditional school for students who have been deemed at risk for gang and…

Discusses problems related to urban education and suggests ways that classrooms may be restructured. Concludes that educators must draw on both environmental factors such as the home and the classroom social group, and academic and organizational alliances in order to effect meaningful change in urban schools. (MW)

Explores the cumulative impact of repeated standardized testing on student attitudes and motivation. By high school, a large number of students, especially low achievers, become disillusioned about tests, are less motivated to give genuine efforts, and increasingly use inappropriate test-taking strategies, undermining test validity and genuine…

This critique of the "America 2000" educational reform initiative claims that its fundamental proposals highlight "old" ideas based on a "puritanic" perfect society with little attention to equity and the multidimensional needs of such groups as African-American at-risk students. The paper discusses the impact of the…

The National Academy of Education Panel is providing the intellectual leadership and coordination for an independent evaluation of the 1990 and 1992 Trial State Assessments (TSA) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These instruments provide state-by-state comparisons of educational achievement, which is the first such use of…