This brief report states that recent emphasis on minimum competency testing has been on using the test results to make better decisions for improving the instructional program and providing remediation. State and local school districts, using advisory committees and commissions, are in various stages of identifying instructional goals and objectives to be used for test item specification and item writing. These activities are followed by field testing and then full-scale testing. States are carefully considering the rights of minority and handicapped students in their testing programs. A chart shows those 17 states that have the high school graduation requirement in place, the type of test to be passed, whether it is state or locally developed, and the first graduating class to which it applies. In many states, there has been considerable discussion about requiring minimum competency tests for grade-to-grade promotion, but little real action has been taken. (PN)