This research examined student demographic (gender, ethnicity, grades, and previous home economics experience) and geographic (rural/urban school locale and individual school) factors that may be related to performance on a statewide New Mexico achievement test under development in the home economics subject matter area of consumer education and resource management. Subjects were 375 high school students--from 18 different schools in New Mexico--who completed the test instrument in spring 1984. Comparisons of the means of the test scores indicated significant differences only with respect to student ethnic origin and individual schools. These results implied that specific groups of students may benefit from additional instruction in consumer education and resource management topics prior to testing. Findings also indicated initial remedial assistance must be implemented on a school-by-school basis, and test results may not provide a valid comparison of student differences but only that of school differences. The study concluded that the value of ascertaining student performance on state-mandated tests can be most useful in making public school educational policy decisions and that knowledge of the effect of student characteristics would enable administrators to recognize the kind and amount of confidence they could place in the test results. (NEC)