During the spring semester of 1987, the Alabama State Department of Education conducted a statewide assessment study in which all teachers and principals participated. The classroom performance of teachers was observed, and their teaching competencies were measured on low- and high-inference instruments. These measurements were to be used to establish a common standard against which each teacher in the state could be compared. This norming study was the first phase of the Alabama Performance-Based Career Incentive Program, which resulted from a law requiring that standards be derived from empirical data gathered on every teacher's performance. Data on 30,863 elementary through high school teachers were included. Instruments used to observe and gather data are briefly reviewed, and procedures for managing and processing the resulting data are discussed. An assessment of the reliability and validity of the resulting measures indicated that the reliabilities for the low-inference instrument--the Classroom Observation Record--are acceptable; an argument for the dimensionality of teaching based on a factor analysis of the results is presented. The high-inference instrument failed to discriminate among teachers. Differences in performance among sub-populations, as measured by 10 classroom competency scales, are outlined. Four flowcharts, seven graphs, and 29 data tables are included. (TJH)