The 1986 Southern Regional Education Board/National Assessment of Educational Progress (SREB/NAEP) testing project included Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The tests used in the SREB/NAEP consisted of selected reading and writing exercises developed and administered to a sample of 11th-grade students by the NAEP. In reading and writing, students in the majority of the participating SREB states are achieving at the national average; overall scores from all participating states matched the Southern regional average. Achievement differences in reading between blacks and whites and between males and females are basically the same in the SREB states as in the nation as a whole. Other results indicate that: (1) the states have the most current and reliable measure of how their students' achievement in reading and writing compares to truly national and regional results; (2) student achievement can be assessed in ways that make state, regional, and national comparisons possible; (3) the NAEP provides information about students who are achieving beyond minimum levels; (4) the SREB sample is representative; and (5) the SREB program can provide insights to the college readiness of students. Data are presented in ten graphs and seven tables. (TJH)