Each year the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests all 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students in reading and mathematics and one or more subject areas. Because MEAP has lost funding for test development, experienced assessment staff and a volunteer team of local educators and college and university specialists develop, administer, and score the MEAP tests. It is important to both instructional and assessment specialists to develop measures to match the skills being tested. Some performance objectives can be tested with multiple choice items, but some skill areas such as art, career development, health, music, and science can only be measured with open-ended short-answer or essay formats, classroom observation, or individual or group performance tests. The performance data yielded can be valuable for curriculum review and planning at local and state levels. Test development activities are conducted several times for each subject area to determine appropriate item types for each objective. The use of a variety of item types provides more valid information to teachers and content specialists. (CM)