Virtually every school system is concerned with two educational considerations: (1) where the students are academically, and (2) how to get the students to a particular set of points. Minimum competency testing has been proposed as one way to handle these concerns. Competency testing has, however, been criticized for encouraging "teaching to the test." If a competency test is a measure of defined outcomes and educational objectives, then it is appropriate to teach to the test. Students who fail such a test and pass it later after further instruction, have demonstrated a measureable change. Frequently this change can legitimately be attributed to the instruction or remediation strategies of our teachers. Such a testing/ remediation program can be a useful way to improve learning effectiveness. Teachers automatically become beneficiaries of such a program when pupil improvement is seen as an indication of teacher effectiveness. The Garland Independent School District is committed to helping students achieve a well-defined set of educational goals, and has elected to use a competency test, the Garland Assessment of Graduation Expectations (G.A.G.E), as an indicator of progress towards those goals. This paper is an example of how G.A.G.E. test results are utilized at one elementary school in the Garland Independent School District. (Author/GK)