The history of the role of state guarantee agencies in the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) Program is reviewed in terms of the initiation of the GSL program, the growth of the Federally Insured Student Loan Program, the initiation of the special allowance, and the Education Amendments of 1972, the Education Amendments of 1976, the Middle Income Student Assistance Act (MISAA), and the Reconciliation Act of 1981. By 1976, the state guaranteed loan programs generally appeared to be better administered, to enjoy the confidence of their commercial lending communities, and to have lower default rates, by more aggressively collecting on defaulted loans. The Education Amendments of 1976 encouraged the formation of state guarantee agencies. Since Congress passed the MISAA in 1978, student participation rates and the average loan amount increased. All states now have GSL program guarantee agencies, which have developed high levels of expertise and close ties with lenders, schools, and borrowers. The federally funded GSL program is the largest form of higher education assistance, and the guarantee agencies administer it. Appended materials include: information on guarantee agency functions and activities, comparative data on federal student aid programs, and GSL data by state. (SW)