This monograph reports on an exploratory investigation of the impact of minimum competency testing on local schools. The implementation and impacts of test requirements in three Missouri and four Ohio local school districts are studied through interviews with teachers and administrators and through the analysis of written materials on the test and curricula. The focus is on how the testing programs affected the curriculum, teaching, the allocation of resources, the relationships between school and community, and how teachers responded to the program. Both the intended and unintended consequences are examined. The findings suggest minimum competency tests affect different schools in varying ways. Test programs can be formulated and implemented in ways that create anxieties and resentments among teachers, or in ways that gain their support. Even the administration of a common state test will affect different schools differently. Several general factors determine the impact, including the following: (1) the form and objectives of the test; (2) the level of local community interest in student test performances; and (3) the expectations of school leaders with respect to student performances. The public interdistrict comparisons of test results greatly affected the impact of the Missouri test mandate. (Author/LMO)