An examination was made of a representative sample of language arts subtests on achievement test batteries and language arts textbooks to assess the skills tested and determine the material included in the instructional sequence. The four achievement test batteries were the California Achievement Tests, the Comprehesive Test of Basic Skills, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and the Stanford Achievement Test. The language arts series included "Patterns of Language" (American Book Company), "Language for Daily Use" (Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich), and "Language Basic Plus" (Harper and Row). Among the findings were the following: (1) tests actually tested a small number of skills and few of those were directly related to writing skills; (2) test exercises were structured so as to rely heavily on contextual clues, thus testing students' reading abilities, not their ability to manipulate language; (3) large portions of the tests were given to testing mechanics; (4) the largest number of activities in the textbook series related to grammar and usage, while the next stressed area involved vocabulary and oral language skills; (5) writing was one of the least emphasized skills in the textbook series; and (6) in two of the three text series, the number of writing activities decreased as the grade level increased. (HOD)