This study addresses the attitudes of counselors, teachers, and administrators toward competency testing programs in their districts. ten districts from each of the four states --Arizona, California, Michigan, and Oregon-- were randomly selected to participate in the study. A total of 247 educators responded to the survey. The following conclusions were made on the basis of the findings: (1) The competency programs have the support the teachers, counselors, and administrators who work with them; (2) They are perceived as being effective in identifying students in need of remediation; (3) They are perceived as being most beneficial to the deficient student, but the setting of minimum standards had not lowered the expectations of the average and above average student; (4) They have not eliminated any programs or courses from the curriculum; (5) They have not limited the parameter of course content guides to concepts covered in the competency test; (6) They are perceived as nor being expensive to the district; (7) The competency program does add a burden of extra paperwork for the groups surveyed, especially the counselors; (8) Most competency programs involve teachers, counselors, and administrators in the planning; (9) Improvements in the quality of education and in student learning are attributable to the the competency program; and (10) The competency program is a recognizable component of the educational program in those districts surveyed.

Since their inception, public schools had been faced with inert problems. The purpose of this study was to discover what the American public believed were the biggest problems facing public schools from 1990-1999 and what education experts believed could be done to eliminate or lessen the problems. Data to discover what the public believed were the biggest problems facing public schools were derived from the Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Polls of the Public's Attitudes Toward Public Schools (Poll) for that 10-year period. Possible solutions to those problems were examined and discussed based on the latest literature on identified topics.Based on the Poll data the public identified 46 problems facing public schools for this 10-year period. A group of 35 individuals sorted the 46 public school problems into categories they believed were similar with each other and these groupings were factor analyzed to determine coherent problem categories.The results of the factor analysis provided a list 16 problem areas for the 10-year (1990-1999) period as being the most prevalent. Potential solutions to these 16 problems were offered from four different areas: the schools, government, community and individual homes of the students. Some solutions to a particular problem were also mentioned as potential solutions to many of the other problems facing public schools.Suggestions for further study include replicating this study at the local level, analyzing each problem more thoroughly, and conducting further study of the factor analysis. / Department of Educational Leadership