Declining test scores have been publicized throughout the nation for the past several years as a major educational issue. Because of the kinds of statements made, the conclusions drawn by educators and public alike, the San Mateo Educational Resources Center requested that a review of the literature and a bibliography be prepared that indicated what the literature actually did say. As a result of the review, this monograph which presents a "state-of-the-art" of the entire issue, was prepared. In order to examine various aspects of test score decline a practice is borrowed from the literature, and areas from which explanations concerning test score declines may come are examined: (1) changes in the tests themselves, (2) changes in the population(s) taking the test, (3) changes in the school context in which education takes place, and (4) changes in the social context in general. An annotated bibliography is also included. (Author/MV)