This booklet interprets and summarizes the results of the Connecticut Statewide Basic Skills Proficiency Test as administered to ninth graders in October, 1986. The test measures basic skills in reading and mathematics, and basic writing skills in the language arts. The test is used to identify students who require further remediation in order to participate successfully in ninth-grade classes. The 1986 results showed that 90 percent of the students met or exceeded the Statewide Level of Expected Performance (SLOEP) in reading, writing, language arts, and mathematics for the third consecutive year. Although the percent of urban students at or above the SLOEP increased in all areas, large cities continued to have the highest percent of students in need of remedial assistance (40.1%). In addition, this publication includes sections covering the following: (1) Designing the Mathematics, Basic Writing Skills, Language Arts and Reading Tests; (2) Test Development Procedures including Pilot Testing and setting the SLOEP; (3) Test Administration and Scoring; and (4) The October 1986 Proficiency Test Results by type of community, school district, state and individual students. Tables are included comparing the statewide results of each of the 1986 tests with the previous six years' scores. Five writing samples are included to illustrate holistic scoring standards. (KSA)