This paper addresses itself to the history and use of standardized aptitude and achievement tests for practical judgements about schools in New Jersey. In the author's opinion, school-wide aptitude testing is not a particularly useful practice when other types of information, particularly grades, achievement tests, and teacher's comments, are available, though it may be useful when there is no information about the student or when special aptitudes for special programs, are being sought. Whereas aptitude tests claim to be able to measure an individual's future performance, achievement tests are closely tied to things which people have done, to scientifically verifiable accomplishments. Norm-referenced tests classify children on the basis of their relative accomplishments, but have limited value for identifying educational deficiencies as a means of providing effective remediation. Criterion referenced tests strive to overcome that problem. In the final section, the New Jersey State Assessment Program is discussed; the appendixes include a glossary of terms and a guide to test scores. (Author/BW)