A comparative guide to the systems and main stages of higher education in 145 countries is provided to aid (1) those who evaluate college applicants; (2) the college applicants; and (3) students and researchers of comparative education. Each country profile provides a description of the higher education system, a glossary of the degrees and…

In May 1983, the Georgia Board of Education identified six tasks to be pursued in an attempt to improve education in the public schools: (1) strengthen high school graduation requirements; (2) establish statewide promotion guidelines for at least one grade in elementary school (the 3rd grade was chosen); (3) implement merit or differential pay for…

This booklet provides samples of student writing that exemplify the standards that governed the scoring of student essays on the June 1988 Social Studies 30 Diploma Examination. Copies of the two essay assignments are provided, and five student essays are included for both topics, covering the full range of student writing. Commentaries…

College seniors--129 who were 25 years of age or older, and 734 younger students were administered the objective portion of the American College Testing (ACT) College Outcomes Measures Project (COMP) test. The total COMP scores and subscores were compared for the two groups, as well as their entering ACT scores and grade-point averages using…

As of the fall of 1984, 40 states had by state mandate adopted some form of student minimum competency testing; 19 are or will be using test performance for the award of high school diplomas. In the other 10 states, local initiatives had implemented such testing programs on the school district level. Five states were using competency tests to…

Results of 1983 and 1984 surveys of faculty and students at Drexel University are reviewed to evaluate the effects of the requirement that incoming students must buy a microcomputer. Slightly more than half the faculty were computer-competent (i.e., had considerable experience with at least one class of computer, with using computers in teaching,…

A. Phillip Randolph Campus High School began in 1979 as a cooperative effort among the New York City Board of Education, the School of Education of the City University of New York, and City College of New York. High school students are able to use the educational resources of City College. The effort has been successful, especially as measured by…

Content, instructional, and curricular validity, as related to certification tests, are examined. All three deal with content validity but the domain differs among the the three. Certification tests must have instructional validity, i.e., the test must be valid both with respect to the domain used to define the minimum competencies and the…

Directed at school officials, this paper describes selected civil cases filed against schools since 1976. Cases concerning handicapped students constitute most of such cases; those cited deal with discipline (S-1 v. Turlington) and appropriate residential placement (Hine v. Pitt County Board of Education) of a handicapped child. Discipline cases…

This report presents the findings of a survey of a nationally representative sample of school districts on high school academic requirements and achievement. A survey questionnaire was sent to 571 school districts and a 93 percent response rate was obtained. Information was gathered on the following topics: (1) time spent in school; (2) credits…

National statistics reported in recent studies of educational quality and information gathered by the Nevada Governor's Commission on Educational Excellence both show disturbing trends in educational performance, despite some positive indications. Among recent signs of improvement in Nevada are the recognition of some Nevada schools as outstanding…

The New York Regents Competency Testing Program has been designed to assure that all students develop adequate skills in reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics before graduation from high school. In this booklet, information is provided on two elements of the Regents Competency Testing Program: diploma standards and screening tests.…

This study analyzes qualitative data on student perceptions and curriculum transformation from a schoolwide culminating portfolio program of a small, urban, archdiocesan Catholic high school located on the West Coast. Over 4 years, all graduating students (n = 102) developed culminating portfolios, evidencing their accomplishment of specific…

The document is a brief collection of materials which provide a framework whereby local Kansas education units can individually and collectively identify ways to use the statewide effort to strengthen existing programs of service or develop new approaches at the local level for educating the mentally retarded. Part I introduces the process systems…

Intended to help state level administrators plan for minimal competency testing programs, the guide discusses conceptual, legal, and budgeting considerations involved in competency programs for different handicapped populations. Problems and remedies are cited from a longitudinal study of the implementation of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All…