This paper, as an illustration of the procedures involved in a cooperative effort, describes a project in which the Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) designed and developed a minimum standards test in collaboration with a large urban school district in California. The activity described focuses on the writing sample included in the test. The original prompt asked students to write something that they remembered about their impressions on their first day at school. A review revealed that the prompt could pose problems for students who did not remember their first day at school, and that students would likely interpret the purpose of the task differently. SWRL suggested that a new prompt be devised and be tried with a sample of district students. The district selected the sample and the raters. SWRL developed the assessment and scoring materials. The new prompt asked students to write a letter to the fictitious manager of a nearby restaurant, to convince the manager to hire them for a specific job. Several scoring methods were evaluated; SWRL advised the district to use its usual holistic scoring techniques. The feasibility inquiry suggested that the writing sample, as revised, was an appropriate task for the students. The appendix deals with scoring procedures. (BW)