In 1973, compulsory province-wide grade 12 examinations, administered in Alberta since 1906, were dropped; teachers were given the responsibility of assigning final grades. Mandated by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1976, this study by the Minister's Advisory Committee on Student Achievement (MACOSA) surveyed education professionals, students, and the public to answer two basic questions: (1) What is happening to the quality of education since these exams were dropped? and (2) What should happen? The first section of the study report, An Audit of the Facts, examines existing school system evaluation practices, policies, and grading trends, within local systems and province-wide. The second section, An Audit of Public's Opinions, discusses the survey instrument, population surveyed, questionnaire returns, treatment of data and interview techniques; and presents and interprets the resulting data. The third section, Interpretations of Publics' Opinions, discusses the positions taken by each of the ten groups sampled in the survey and by the interviewees, with respect to future practices in evaluation. The final section presents conclusions of the study regarding various interpretations for quality of education and the MACOSA recommendation regarding the new system of student evalution. Since there is reluctance to return to the compulsory examinations, it is recommended that the current policy be continued, subject to review after three years. (CP)