The 3 R’s: Can testing assure competency?
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the
second of two articles on the
quality of American Education
and deals with testing programs.
By LOUISE COOK
Associated Press Writer
(AP) — Alarmed by reports
of high school graduates who
cannot read well enough to fill out
a job application, educators and
lawmakers are trying to make
sure that youngsters learn basic
skills before they leave the
classroom.
State legislatures and boards
of education are setting up testing
programs requiring students to
meet what are known as
minimum competency standards
before they receive a high school
diploma or are promoted from
grade-to-grade.
They are testing students be
ginning in the eighth and ninth
grade and setting up remedial
programs for those youngsters
who fail.
Dr. Chris Pipho, associate di
rector of the Department of Re
search and Information of the
Education Commission of the
States in Denver said that by the
end of 1976, 16 states had taken
some action in the area of
minimum competency standards
and action is pending in more
than half a dozon other states.
“The push for minimal com
potency testing may be a reflec
tion of the genera! mood of the
country,” says Pipho. “For some
time, separate groups have been
concerned about the need for
more basic education, declining
test scores and more accountabil
ity for the education dollar.”
Dr. Richard Bossone, profes
sor of English at the graduate
school of the City University of
New York, said the public is
showing a “growing dissatisfac
tion with high school graduates
who are unable to read or write
well.”
Bossone spoke a* a confer
ence on minimum competencies,
sponsored by the New York City
Board of Education and the City
University's Graduate Center.
Like Pipho, he noted that there
are several problems with the
new testing programs.
First and foremost is the prob
lem of determining what consti
tutes minimum competency.
Does it mean being able to read
at a certain grade level? Or does
it mean being able to understand
the instruction booklet that comes
with a new appliance? Should
writing tests stress grammar, spell
ing and punctuation or should
they be more concerned with de
termining whether the student
can express himself clearly?
What areas should be tested?
Other problems include: Who
should set the standards? When
should the tests be given? How
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do you insure that the tests do not
discriminate against minoritiy
groups? What sort of remedial
programs should be set up and
where will the money come from?
How do you insure that the
minimum doesn’t also become
the maximum?
These problems have led
some educators to criticize the
minimum competency concept.
Aurthur Wise, of the Educational
Policy Research Group, said that
passage of laws setting minimum
standards on a state-wide basis
"is a rather simplistic solution to
what is a serious problem...I’m
certainly in favor of children learn
ing how to read. The real ques
tion is whether you can legislate
that...”
Wise said that teachers and
principals already know which
students cannot read or perform
simple arithmetical tasks. “The
problem is that we don’t have ef
fective ways of reaching these
young people...”
In recent years, he noted,
educators have faced the prob
lem of what to do with the child
who has not learned to read. Do
you attach a stigma of failure to
the youngster or do you give him
a "social promotion,” advancing
him to the next grade level even
though he has not mastered the
required work? What about the
student who is given remedial
training but is still unable to pass
the minimum competency test?
“I don't have an answer," Wise
said. “It’s a question of values.
The kind of stigma that would at
tach to some children as a result
of these minimum competency
laws may be...a heavier burden
than getting out of high school
without being able to read."
Supporters of the minimum
competency idea concede that
they don't have solutions to all the
problems. Educators are still
working to develop acceptable
tests.
"The issue of minimal com
petency ultimately becomes a
testing and measurement prob
lem for which no one has all the
answers,” said H.A. Wilson, di
rector of exercise development
for the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP).
NAEP is funded by the federal
government and is a project of
the Education Commission of the
States.
Wilson suggested to the
educators and testing experts
meeting in Denver last summer
that state and local school dis
tricts start by using “an item-bank
approach” with a large pool of
test items. “The items could be
used to establish a body of mater
ials from which state and local
districts could sample or select
items that meet their particular
needs at a given time."
Professional testing services
already have developed prop
osed exams. One such test in
cludes sections designed to find
out whether the student can fol
low written directions, can under
stand such items as classified
ads and can use road maps or
grocery store tapes to get the in
formation he or she needs.
Most school districts are fry
ing to learn as they go in the area
of minimum competency. It is too
early to measure the impact of ex
isting programs, but a look at the
diversity of some of the proposals
under development provides
clues about the directions the
states are taking.
Two states, California and
Florida, combined minimum
competency testing with the
"early out" concept whereby a
student who passes the test can
leave school with a diploma be
fore the usual legal age.
About 20,000 to 30,000 stu
dents in California have taken the
minimum competency test, Pipho
said, but no studies have been
completed on the impact of the
law and how it is working. Im
plementation of the law in Florida
was delayed when legislators
discovered there was no stan
dard, readily available minimum
competency test.
"The early out approach ap
pears to be in the minority, Pipho
said, adding that there are ques
tions about the impact of the
program on college enrollment
and about what happens to the
student who leaves school at 15
or 16 and cannot find a job
The City of Denver has been
giving minimum competency
tests since 1962. Two years ago.
the uoioraoo Legislature passed
a law requiring any school district
which decides to give such a test
to meet certain standards: the
test must first be given in the
ninth grade; tests must be given
twice a year; remedial classes
must be provided during the regu
lar school day for all students who
do not pass the test.
The New York State will begin
a minimum competency testing
program in 1979. Gordon Am
bach, executive deputy commis
sioner of the state Education De
partment, said tests will be given
in five areas: reading, writing or
composition, mathematics, prac
tical sciences and health and
civics and citizenship.
The department decided that
the exam would be compulsory
and that no student would receive
a high school diploma without
passing the test, Ambach said
The test, which will be given start
ing at the ninth-grade level, must
be completed in English.
Some educators argue that
testing in the ninth grade is too
late. The State of Washington, in
legislation passed last year, re
quires that local school distncts
develop learning objectives start
ing with the kindergarten year
and that students be tested at
least annually
The Virginia Legislature or
dered school districts last year "to
give highest instructional pnority
to developing the reading, com
munications and mathematics
skills of all students with particu
lar attention to the pnmary grades »
and the intermediate grades
The law alto directs the state
board of education to establish
minimum educational standards
on a statewide basis and to test
students annually for reading and
communications ability
Pipho says the minimum com
petency tests could lead to a
major overhaul of the educational
system within the decade, with
changes in what is taught and
how. Educators are still debating
the form that the changes should
take and what areas should be
stressed But Pipho notes: "The
man on the street has no doubt
as to the meaning of minimum
competency. Minimum compe
tency means reading, wnting and
arithmetic
Boat racing left high and dry
By BECKY YOUNG
Of the Emerald
Drought conditions this year
caused a dismal winter for skiers
and promise an equally bleak
summer for boaters, especially
those who were planning to race
on Lane County lakes.
The county commissioners, at
their regular Wednesday meet
ing, voted to close county park
facilities to boat racing for the
1977 season.
The decision came after a re
commendation from Chuck
Schrader, county director of
parks.
Schrader said he wasn’t any
happier about closing the
facilities than boat racers would
be, and that the recommendation
came only after consultation with
the Army Corp of Engineers, the
Forest Servict', the State Marine
Board and the county sheriff s of
fice.
Only Dexter, Dorina, and Fall
Creek reservoirs are full enough
for large sailboats Fern Ridge
has two feet of water at the
marina. Schrader said after the
meeting that with 13,500 boats
registered in Lane County, spe
cial interest groups like racer will
have to sacrifice.
Ski and hydro racing re' uire
closure of a whole lake while
OECC to meet Friday
The Oregon Educational Coordinating Commission (OECC' and
committees will meet Friday in Salem to discuss current higher ec) .ca
tion legislation.
The OECC Finance committee will be reporting on the cu ent
status of legislation with the House Education Committee.
The Educational Issues Committee will report on Teacher E( ca
tion in both state system and independent colleges in Oregon.
The Finance Committee will convene at 9:30 a.m. in the Cor mis
sion Conference Room, and the commission as a whole will met it 1
p.m. The Educational Issues Committee convenes at 1:30 p.m
races are gang on
Schrader said that boat racers
from all over the state are suffer
ing. Lane County has already hac
requests from racers in Portland
and Klamath Falls for use of Lane
County reservoirs
"Some racers need local races
to qualify for national competi
tion
Toward the end of the summer.
Schrader said, Dexter will be the
only lake full enough fa any kind
of boating because Fall Creek
and Dorina will be drained off for
irrigation
The season normally extends
from May 1 to Labor Day depend
ing on the level of the lakes.
Schrader said this is the first
year the Dexter marina has been
completely full. "They've already
had fistfights on the marina over
who gets to launch boats."
Schrader predicts boating
won’t be the last recreational ac
tivity to suffer as a result of the
drought. As the summer progres
ses, so will the fire danger and
hikers will probably be affected