Instruments and methods are considered by many the nuts and bolts of school testing programs, for both individuals and groups. Too often, the individual is lost in the machinery of such a school program, and data collected becomes the end product of appraisal and assessment. Programs of student appraisal procedures should be developed around eight essential principles, including; (1) there is no single best appraisal technique or procedure to be recommended for all programs, and (2) student appraisal procedures involve study of the self in the situation--the individual in his total environment. The total process of appraisal would best be stimulated through a satisfactory initial counseling interview. The whole staff must also become involved in the appraisal program. Thus appraisal services are viewed as an attempt to accummulate and interpret as much information as possible about the student, to provide as much information as possible to the student and to the staff, and to promote better understanding of individual needs. (Author/KJ)