A brief, nontechnical state-of-the-art review of four common instruments and current practices in the field of scholastic aptitude testing is presented. The instruments include: the 1971 Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT), 1973 Henmon-Nelson Tests of Mental Ability (H-NTMA), 1979 Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) and the 1970 Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude (SFTAA). The fundamental premise underlying the use of these tests is that pupils vary with respect to possessing the abilities needed to successfully master the academic learning tasks required by schools. Knowledge about these abilities is useful for planning instruction. Reexaminations of original premises that had led both to the development and the use of the tests has resulted in modifications, both with respect to what the tests purport to do and with respect to their development and interpretation. Of the four tests, only H-NTMA continues to identify itself as a test of "mental ability." The others are presented as tests of "school ability,""cognitive abilities," and "academic aptitude." The present designations reflect more modest representations than previous tests. Topics discussed include interpreting scores, test development and standardization, validity, reliability, and using test results. (Author/RL)