This study involving 29 students enrolled in an 8-week summer Algebra II class for minority students was undertaken to determine the relationship between the kinds of symbolic forms used in problem-solving instruction and students' problem-solving processes and performance. All subjects were Black or Hispanic and were about to enter grade 11. For problems involving solving simultaneous equations in two unknowns and distance-rate-time relationships, sets of problems were developed that varied in the symbolic form of the problem presented and of the response required. Approximately half of the problems were open-ended; the other half were multiple-choice. Data on teacher instructional methods came from the printed materials used by teachers, student notes, and interviews with teachers. Results indicate that: (1) sole use of conventional symbolic representations provides a limited picture of students' problem-solving abilities; (2) students' difficulties in translating symbolic representations can be understood by systematically varying the symbolic form of problem and response required; (3) using alternative symbolic forms of the required response may be a good means of measuring students' conceptual understanding of mathematics; and (4) types of translation between symbolic forms during instruction did not seem to play a major role. Two data tables and 11 sample test items are included. (TJH)