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American Way - Rules, Laws and You - An Assessment of Law-related Competencies - Primary, Intermediate and Secondary Levels - Tests and Supporting Materials

NCJ Number
75188
Date Published
1976
Length
81 pages
Annotation
The primary, intermediate, and secondary multiple-choice tests which comprise the law-related education competencies, the curriculum guide for teaching legal subjects to Pennsylvania's elementary through high school students, are presented along with an outline of the competencies themselves.
Abstract
Most items in the three tests are intended to measure cognitive knowledge of various law-related concepts, including nature and types of social groups, need for laws within and between groups, individual rights embodied in the U.S. Constitution, the process of lawmaking, the role and nature of law enforcement, types of correctional institutions, and ways that society reinforces responsible behavior. A number of items, especially in the primary test, focus on student attitudes in the following areas: developing understanding of other people's feelings, respecting other people and property, observing and obeying laws, and valuing the democratic form of decisionmaking. The law competencies curriculum guidelines were prepared to give direction in the teaching of law-related education throughout the public school system. These instruments were developed as part of a Law-Related Education Project of the Pennsylvania State Department of Education and were used during the 1976-77 school year as part of a statewide summative evaluation program. (Author abstract modified)