In an effort to determine the relationship between English language/writing skills and academic performance in a college-level U.S. History course, a study was conducted of all students enrolled in freshman U.S. History at Oxnard College (California) in spring 1990. The study sample consisted of 112 students, whose scores on the English Subtest of the Assessment and Placement Services Exam for Community Colleges were recorded. In addition to comparing those students demonstrating college-level English/writing skills with those not demonstrating such skills, the sample was also sorted to identify those students who had successfully completed a college-level English course prior to enrolling in U.S. History. The proportion of students in this latter group who successfully completed U.S. History was computed, as was the proportion of students in the remainder of the sample who successfully completed the course. Study results included the following: (1) 46 of the 73 students (63%) who had tested below college-level English successfully completed U.S. History, while 21 of the 26 of the students (81%) who tested at college-level English successfully completed the course; (2) 76% of the students who took a college-level English course prior to enrolling in U.S. History successfully completed the course while 63% of students who had not taken a college-level English course completed the history course; and (3) none of the differences between the groups in the study were found to be statistically significant at the .05 level, suggesting that college-level English skills are not a prerequisite to successful completion of college-level U.S. History. (PAA)