A test battery termed "Assessment of Reading and Language Maturity" (ALARM) contains 15 subtests designed to cover the major and minor elements involved in assessing and promoting progress toward reading-language-thinking and social-emotional maturity. Although still undergoing development, ALARM has been administered to and partially normed on over 800 urban and suburban youngsters between grades 6 and 14. Tests 1 through 3 attempt to establish if the student has achieved basic literacy. Test 4 covers syntactic complexity, test 5 is a modified cloze, and test 6 assesses reading comprehension. Tests 7 and 8, testing speed and accuracy in content area material and abstract verbal reasoning, require more complex mental operations and the integration of specialized areas of prior knowledge while reading. Tests 9 through 12 test even more subtle factors: elaborative thinking, socio-emotional factors, teaching/learning range, and cultural compatability. Tests 13 through 15, assessing critical judgments in the areas of useful information, reasonability, and comprehension and aesthetics, measure both comprehension and evaluative thinking. A preliminary factor analysis of the 15 subtests revealed 4 factors: developmental reading, major bracing elements, complementary elements, and trace elements. Although not fully satisfactory, ALARM appears to offer a paradigm for constructing profiles of reading-language-thinking and social-emotional development at post-elementary levels. (JL)