This paper reports on the New Jersey State Department of Education's research process for developing a scoring rubric that assesses test objectives and higher order thinking skills through writing. New Jersey's statewide assessment program includes a written essay portion to test students' ability to write on a given topic and communicate an intended message to a specific audience. Prior to its implementation as a graduation requirement, the Department of Education administered the essay test for two years to all ninth-grade students attending New Jersey's public schools. The essay test consists of five minutes for prewriting and five minutes for revision within the 30 minutes allotted for the writing sample. Research was conducted to determine a consistent scoring procedure that is most appropriate for assessing the ability to think logically and critically--skills that are included in objectives of the statewide testing program. Registered Holistic Scoring, a newly developed scoring method, is based upon students' level of facility with: (1) organization/content; (2) usage; (3) sentence construction; and (4) mechanics. Data was collected from the chief readers who scored the essays. An analysis was conducted to identify common elements. Based on the research, a scoring rubric and training program was developed. Additional characteristics that distinguish the Registered Holistic Scoring method from other scoring methods are described. (Author/PN)