After reviewing three current approaches to handling students who fail to meet minimum competency standards, the author proposes a new approach to minimum competency testing. The three common reactions are: (1) doing nothing to help failing students; (2) denying students their high school diplomas; and (3) requiring students to take remedial courses before receiving their diplomas. To avoid the punitive nature of these reactions, the author suggests that meeting minimum competency standards be viewed as an individual's right, if these standards represent skills which one needs to survive in contemporary society. The mechanism for establishing this right involves issuing a certificate to any state resident who meets standards set by the appropriate state agency. This certificate is separate from a high school diploma, which local school districts would continue to award according to standards they had set. Every resident who could not meet the minimum standards would have the right to take remedial instruction, at public expense, for as long as necessary. The author suggests that community colleges be the agency designated to offer the remedial courses for those residents who elect to meet minimum competence standards. (MH)