Scope and Method of Study: The study investigated the relationship between performance on the Oklahoma State Testing Program (OSTP) for grades 3-7 and the EXPLORE in math and reading for 586 students. The EXPLORE test, a part of the ACT, is given in the eighth grade and provides college readiness benchmarks and a national percentile ranking (NPR) for each EXPLORE score. Linear regression was used to predict EXPLORE scores from Oklahoma Performance Index (OPI) scores to give a more meaningful understanding of OPI scores and performance levels in terms of college readiness and national percentile rankings. The study further analyzed the distribution of scores on the OSTP with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and examined kurtosis, skewness, and graphical plots of the data. Cross tabulation was used to track student performance levels from grades 3-7. Findings and Conclusions: OPI scores were moderate to strong in their ability to predict performance on the EXPLORE assessment. The OPI scores explained from 36%-46% of the variance based on the grade and subject examined. The results indicated in grades 3-6 satisfactory performance began in the 31%-41% range while college readiness was typically met in the upper range of the satisfactory category for math and the middle range of satisfactory for reading. The Oklahoma State Department of Education increased the rigor for this study's seventh grade class resulting in satisfactory for math beginning at the 53% (NPR) and the 63% (NPR) for reading. College readiness remained in the upper range of satisfactory for math and began in the lower range of satisfactory for reading. Only the third grade reading had a normal distribution of scores; however, the distributions demonstrated the known variability in human ability. Over 50% of the students classified below satisfactory at the end of the third grade attained satisfactory following their sixth grade year. Only 28% maintained this performance level following the increased rigor implemented following the seventh grade. Over 90% of the students performing satisfactory following the third grade were still classified as satisfactory following the sixth grade and over 80% were still satisfactory considering the increased standards following seventh grade. The study provided guidelines for setting performance levels and evidence the NCLB requirement of all students attaining proficiency by 2014 is unrealistic. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]