This Information Aid assembles facts about recent trends in standardized testing among secondary students and summarizes both the possible causes for declining scores and some counterarguments against some of these causes. Emphasis is given to two college admissions tests--the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Assessment (ACT). Some annual and longitudinal studies of national, state, and district assessments of student abilities are included also to provide general descriptive information about high school students. A substantial bibliography is included. (Author/RC)