To determine the need for shorthand instruction in business education programs, a study and literature review were conducted on the status of shorthand as a job requirement for secretaries and stenographers. The literature review covered studies published prior to 1976 and indicated that shorthand was still considered a necessary skill at that time. Based on the replies received from 854 of the 1,851 Pennsylvania businesses surveyed, the future usefulness of shorthand appeared assured and the following conclusions were reached: (1) the larger the office staff, the more frequently shorthand is required; (2) a dictation speed of eighty to one hundred words per minute is usually expected for employment; (3) most applicants are asked to take a dictation test averaging six and a half minutes; (4) shorthand is not considered necessary for company advancement; (5) a high school education with business training is adequate for most secretarial/stenographic jobs; and (6) shorthand is not rapidly being replaced by word-processing centers since less than ten percent of the respondents have installed such centers. High school business courses should, therefore, continue to teach shorthand but should also offer instruction in the use of other media for recording dictation, give practice dictation tests like those used by businesses, and encourage students to achieve minimum skills and to regard high school as a culminating educational experience. (ELG)