This report provides an analysis of the participation and performance of students with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the 1996, 1997, and 1998 Basic Standards of Reading and Math tests given to all 8th grade students in Minnesota annually. There is very limited availability of data on the performance of LEP students on these tests because they are exempt from such tests in all but six states. The few states that do report such data report it in a variety of noncomparable ways, making serious longitudinal studies difficult if not impossible. If the goal of the current educational reform movement is for all students to reach the standards set by the state in which they reside, more data about how LEP students are progressing toward this goal needs to be generated and made available. The purpose of this report is to begin this type of systematic and thorough examination of academic progress of LEP students. Minnesota initiated its statewide assessment in 1996 with the goal of including as many LEP students as possible. Thus far, the participation of LEP students in basic standards testing is high; patterns in the data are similar for "all students" and LEP students in many areas, but passing rates for LEP students are generally significantly lower, especially in reading; more than the 3 years of longitudinal data presented in this report are needed to draw more defensible conclusions. (KFT)