The sixth report required by the Maryland Educational Accountability Act contains information about goals for Maryland public education and progress toward those goals. The first section explains accountability, the Maryland Accountability Act, and limitations of current instruments for measuring learning progress. The central purpose of the report is to present Maryland accountability assessment information. The reading comprehension, language, and mathematics skills covered by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were assessed in the third, fifth, and seventh grades. Maryland's 1978-79 third and fifth graders scored better than, or the same as, their 1970 national norm sample counterparts; the seventh graders' averages fell short of the seventh grade averages in the national norm sample. The average grade equivalent scores, by skill area, are shown for each school within each county. Tables display the countywide average grade equivalents for the tests, along with the average nonverbal ability scores, over the past five Maryland Accountability Program reporting years. The last section of the report contains a short summary of progress in special program areas in the state: (1) Project Basic, (2) mandate for special education program monitoring and evaluation, and (3) Project STAR Reading Intervention. (PN)