Four main purposes of a study of students learning three shorthand systems were to determine if first-year students achieved minimum shorthand goals, to compare dictation achievements of students learning different shorthand methods for the possible selection of one system over another for certain groups of students, to gain further insight into factors related to different types of shorthand achievement, and to determine students' attitudes about learning shorthand and if those attitudes changed as the year progressed. Related research was reviewed and pretest, shorthand attitude, and shorthand achievement data were collected from 1,317 beginning shorthand students in 20 area high schools teaching Gregg, Forkner, or Century 21 shorthand. Seventy-three percent of the students completed the work and tests showed that the majority of the time Forkner shorthand students achieved the highest accuracy and transcription rate scores. Most students agreed that shorthand was easy to learn, but Forkner and Century 21 students agreed more strongly with this statement. However, one year of shorthand was not considered sufficient for high school students to develop minimal shorthand skills regardless of the system since no student could produce a mailable letter at 80 words per minute dictation. Recommendations included offering Forkner shorthand to students for at least one year, additional counseling for low aptitude students, and spending classroom time to discuss career opportunities, as well as personal use applications, for persons with shorthand skill. (BL)