This pamphlet describes the new Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) Essential Skills Reading Test which was given to every fourth, seventh, and tenth grader in Michigan in 1989. The questions addressed in the pamphlet include: (1) Why is a new MEAP reading test needed? (2) How has the teaching of reading changed? (3) How is the new MEAP reading test different from previous tests? (4) What kinds of questions will students be asked on the new test? (5) How will the new reading test be scored? and (6) How will students perform on the new reading tests? The pamphlet includes examples from the new and old tests. (RS)