This project was designed to answer the following questions: Is it possible for secondary school office education students to develop an entry level shorthand skill of 90 words per minute with one year of instruction? Is the current dominant system the most effective to use to obtain entry level skill in one year? Is there one system more effective than others for low ability students? At what speeds are students able to transcribe dictation with 97% accuracy in each of the four shorthand systems at the end of two semesters? Two symbol systems (Gregg and Century 21) and two alphabetic systems (Landmark and Forkner) were selected. Subjects were first-semester shorthand students in sixteen high schools in Los Angeles County. Shorthand teachers received inservice education to insure the use of appropriate methods. Results follow: (1) An insignificant number of students in any of the systems was able to take shorthand at 90 words per minute. (2) Since none of the systems enabled students to obtain an entry level skill, a dominant system could not be determined. (3) There is sufficient evidence to support the statement that, for the students in the study, the Forkner system allows low ability students to perform at a higher level than the other three systems. (4) Transcription speeds of students in the study were highest using Century 21 and Forkner. (SH)