The purposes for which test data should be used were described as: test should provide a learning experience for the child taking the test, the teacher giving the test, and the parents of the child. It should also provide information useful to school administrators, school boards, and state and national educational agencies. The state-mandated testing program was examined in terms of how well it provided information which would be most valuable to these groups. Students, teachers and parents get very little helpful information from the present testing program. The information provided to the last three groups mentioned was more useful, but wasteful in time and money. Three alternatives were suggested: (1) criterion referenced tests based on the UCLA Instructional Objectives Exchange (IOX); (2) a form of sampling using the present standardized state-mandated tests; and (3) a combination of standardized normative based tests and locally constructed criterion referenced tests. (Author/AG)