The Performance Standards of the Oregon Certificate of Initial Mastery are described and discussed. Performance standards define how well students must perform on classroom and state assessments that lead to Oregon's Certificate of Initial Mastery. Students must complete classroom and state assessments that show what they know and can do in required subject areas. The state assessments will be phased in for this new assessment system, beginning with English and mathematics state tests in 1996-97. School districts must be ready to implement the Certificate of Initial Mastery by the 1998-99 school year, with the program phased in until 2003. In this document, performance standards are described for: (1) reading and literature; (2) writing; (3) speaking; and (4) mathematics. Sample questions are given for different grade levels. (SLD)