The consequences of the minimum competency testing movement may bring into question the basic assumptions, goals, and expectations of our school system. The intended use of these tests is the assessment of students; the unintended consequence may be the assessment of the school system. There are two ways in which schools may fail in the context of the use of these tests: (1) inappropriate use of the tests; and (2) the school's inability to fulfill their goals, despite appropriate use of minimum competency tests (MCT). If quality education is defined as student input, then schools can use MCT to grade students and provide quality education. However, if quality education is defined as realizing student potential, then using MCT to sort and grade students does not fulfill schools' claims of providing quality education. However, MCT can be used in schools to reflect the modern role of responsible responsiveness towards students. Such a use would involve testing for the purpose of evaluation to ascertain the type of remedial help required by students. Remedial help appears to take on significance in the proper use of tests within the institution's current goals and past developments. (PN)