It is accepted that a secondary school graduate should be able to communicate, i.e. to be competent in the language skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. However, most state departments of elementary and secondary education fail to identify the skill of listening. Although federal recognition of listening as a language skill came in the 1978 "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" (along with speaking) as a measure of literacy and basic competency for graduates, little attention has been given to "listening." A 1990 survey indicated that 35 states had developed curriculum for teaching listening skills; however, only 12 states had developed listening assessment procedures. The National Communication Association (NCA) has been developing listening competencies and standards along with those for speaking. NCA presents its standards for a competent listener through "knowledge,""behaviors," and "attitudes." The International Listening Association (ILA) outlines five standards and lists listening experiences and activities which complement each standard. The secondary school graduate should: (1) understand the listening process; (2) have developed the skill of discriminative listening in regard to phonemic, semantic, and linguistic elements; (3) have developed the skill of comprehensive listening; (4) have developed the skill of critical listening; and (5) have developed the skill of relationship listening. (NKA)