Guidelines are presented for use by school personnel in reviewing and improving locally developed proficiency tests used in meeting the requirements of the California Pupil Proficiency Law. The guide is organized in three main chapters on test construction, test validation, and test documentation. The test construction chapter focuses on issues that should be addressed in the construction of a high-quality proficiency test. The test validation chapter covers psychometric indexes of test quality. Other procedures and indexes related to technical quality are also covered. The chapter on test documentation deals with the administration of proficiency tests and the reporting of proficiency test information. Also included is information on describing the tests to students who will take the tests and to their parents. Throughout this document questions are posed in the page margins to stimulate reader inquiries regarding the completeness and quality of proficiency tests. These questions are repeated in checklist form at the end of the book for quick reference. In addition, materials for further reference are cited at the end of each section. (PN)