This volume, Assessing Basic Academic Skills in Higher Education: The
Texas Approach, is presented in two parts. Most of the papers in Part
One, "Access to Quality: The Challenge for Higher Education," are
based on presentations made at the conference "Assessing Basic Skills
in Higher Education," sponsored by NES in April 1988.

In the first paper, Wilhelmina Delco, a member of the Texas House
of Representatives and key author of the legislation that led to the
TASP, provides a legislative perspective on the challenge presented
to educators and state higher education agencies in Texas.

Next, William Sanford, assistant commissioner of the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, offers a brief history on the TASP
and underscores the complexity of program goals and issues.

Joan Matthews, a director of the TASP, prepared the third paper
exclusively for this book. She provides some details on the efforts
being made to prevent bias during the development of TASP items.

The fourth paper, jointly written by Joan Matthews and Richard
Alpert, division director of Higher Education Programs at NES, was
presented at the Third National Forum on Assessment in Higher
Education, sponsored by the American Association for Higher
Education in June 1988. They discuss how the TASP is responding
to the legislative requirement for extensive participation of faculty.
Their presentation includes descriptions of many of the committees
and panels involved in the TASP.

Manuel Justiz and Marilyn Kameen, of the University of South
Carolina, focus on issues of basic skills assessment for minority
populations and emphasize the need to develop testing and
remediation programs that do not limit access for minorities.

The next three papers offer perspectives on three areas of basic skills.
Timothy Shanahan, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, writes
about ways in which developments in reading theory are affecting
test design. Charles Pine, of Rutgers University, outlines the results
and conclusions of his research based on the the New Jersey Algebra
Project. Finally, Edward White, of California State University at San
Bernardino, compares two approaches to writing instruction and
assessment and recommends a style of writing assessment.

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