This handbook is intended for persons who might develop or use an item bank to support their testing program. An item bank is defined as a "large collection of distinguishable test items," with "large" explained as meaning that the number of items available is greater than the number to be used in any one test. The first section of the handbook provides guidance as to the types of testing options which might be most appropriate for different testing purposes, resources, and local testing climate. The other two major sections deal with two item banking options: (1) accessing an existing item bank; and (2) developing one's own item bank. Because this handbook is intended as a practical guide, each section has three major parts: (1) a list of questions to guide users through decisions to be made on each topic; (2) assistance with answering questions; (3) examples to illustrate the various concepts presented. Extensive appendices include: (1) an item bank survey summary; (2) a summary of item banking software for microcomputers; (3) a summary of general purpose software for microcomputers which could be used for item banking; (4) item bank design questions; (5) test selection forms; and (6) sample classification scheme for reading items. (LMO)