An overview is provided of the responses made by Maryland's community colleges to growing concerns for accountability and the measurement of educational outcomes. First, the paper reviews the legislative initiatives and agency actions that characterized the state's movement toward a formalized, state-coordinated institutional assessment procedure. The next section describes the ongoing assessment activities that preceded the development of new accountability requirements in 1987-88, including state reporting systems for enrollment, graduation, and discipline cost data; surveys conducted by the Maryland State Board for Community College Education; reports on performance on certification and licensure examinations; transfer performance reports from senior institutions; qualitative program evaluations conducted by colleges; and institutional research studies. Following a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of these existing systems, the paper explains the process developed to monitor and assess student progress and achievement at Prince George's Community College. This section explains the application of institutional research findings to the development of accountability objectives related to minimal rates of graduate placement in jobs for which students were trained, minimum pass rates on licensure examinations, and standards for transfer student achievement at senior institutions. Finally, the paper identifies several issues that the current emphasis on accountability has raised for institutional researchers. (ALB)