The present study is one example of how statewide minimum competency testing programs can be used to examine minority student achievement trends. The results of 3 years of Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) test administration (1980-82) were examined for Black, Hispanic, and White students. The results were expected to be consistent with current National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) trends such that: (1) Black students would improve their test scores at an increased rate relative to White students, and (2) Hispanic students would also improve their test scores at an increased rate relative to Whites. The average number of objectives mastered at the third and fifth grade level, and percentage of ninth grade students achieving total test mastery, was calculated for Black, Hispanic, and White student performance in mathematics and reading for all years of testing. Black, Hispanic, and White students all demonstrated improved performance across 3 years of testing. Black students increased their rate of improvement relative to Hispanics, and at the third and fifth grade level, began to surpass Hispanic reading performance. Low Hispanic performance was most evident in regions without major urban centers experiencing significant immigration from Mexico. (Author/PN)