This publication reports the results of an Australia-wide investigation of the literacy and numeracy skill attainment of children aged 10 and 14. The chapters present an overview and summary of the study and discuss children in special schools and special classes, the use of the mastery approach in the investigation, the mastery of reading and numeration tasks, student background in relation to mastery of reading and numeration, results on the writing tests, the performance of aboriginal students, characteristics and school performance of students from various ethnic backgrounds, learning handicaps and student achievement, students with multiple handicaps, and some demographic influences on variation among schools. Numerous tables of data are provided. Appendixes discuss the determination of cutting scores for criterion-referenced tests, students' performance on the word knowledge tests, and reliability and validity of the tests; they also indicate test and subtest score distributions, provide a copy of questionnaires used in assessing student background and characteristics, and list income and costs of the investigation. (GW)