This report presents the results of the fourth testing cycle of the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS), a statewide basic skills test for students in grades 3 and 5 and in high school (exit level) of the Austin Independent School District (AISD). The TABS measures basic performance objectives in mathematics, reading, and writing. The general findings of this report are: (1) from 1980 to 1983, the general trend has been upward, with the greatest improvement at grade 3; (2) although White students still outperform Hispanic and Black students, overall, the gains for minorities were greater over the past 3 years than the gains for White students; (3) AISD's minimum competency requirements for graduation are higher than the state-adopted minimum competency level for the TABS; AISD graduates must perform at a higher level of mastery than that required by the state for mastery on the TAB; and (4) the topic for the writing sample has changed every year; comparison of writing scores across years in not advisable. (PN)