Delaware students must meet world-class standards if they are to be competitive and successful in a global economy. To prepare students for their future, schools must support rigorous standards and each teacher must set high expectations. Students must also commit themselves to the achievement of excellence. Any system that hopes to accomplish such ambitious goals must have a yardstick by which to measure its progress. Delaware educators have developed the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) that now serves as such a yardstick. The tests are tied to the Delaware content standards that define the knowledge and skills required for students to succeed beyond high school. The results of the DSTP provide an understanding of how well teachers are preparing students to meet the many challenges that lie ahead. The Delaware Student Testing Program is designed to: (1) serve as a measure of progress toward the Delaware content standards; (2) ensure that students can apply their academic skills to realistic, everyday problems; (3) promote better instruction and curriculum by providing timely reports of students? strength that require extra instruction; (4) serve as a primary indicator in the statewide accountability system; and (5) help districts determine who should and should not be promoted from grade to grade based on assessment results. The purpose of this document is to give an overview of the entire DSTP, including understanding the scoring system. (Contains 8 appendices.) [Document prepared by the Assessment and Analysis Group.]