Most standardized achievement tests do not provide much information that can be used in improving an educational program. Teachers and other program developers need to know what kinds of program objectives are being learned and by what kinds of students and what kinds are not being learned and by whom. Information of this sort furnishes a basis for careful review of the program and suggsts steps that can be taken to improve it. Typical achievement test scores do not provide dependable data of this type. State and national assessment programs, although not planned to appraise a local educational program, make the following contributions to teachers and other local curriculum developers: (1) identification and clarification of educational objectives; (2) report of results in terms of the proportions of students of different backgrounds who have attained or failed to attain objectives; (3) representation of changes in achievement over time; (4) intensification of public understanding and encouragement for the use of local assessment procedures and reports; (5) demonstration of the value of matrix sampling; and (6) provision of independent data regarding progress and problems of schools and, in this way, serve as an important part of accountability. (Author/RL)