In spring 1992, a mid-term assessment of English 10 students was conducted at Golden West College, in California, in order to compare four course placement methods. English 10, "Writing Essentials," is a nontransferrable course which focuses on paragraph writing and grammar review in order to prepare students for entry into English 100. Students enrolled in the spring semester had been referred to the course via the following placement methods: the Stanford Test of Academic Skills (TASK); the College Board Assessment and Placement Services (APS); the English Language Skills Assessment (ELSA); and by teacher recommendation. Half way through the semester, all English 10 instructors were asked to rate their students on a scale of one (i.e., the student appears to have none of the skills necessary for success in the class) to four (i.e., the student appears to have all of the skills necessary for success). In all, ratings were returned for 302 students from 10 sections of English 10, or nearly half of the sections offered. Study findings included the following: (1) 76.5% of the students in the sample were rated by their instructors as having all or most of the skills necessary for success, representing about 23 students in a typical class of 30; (2) 82.1% of the students placed in English 10 by tests were rated as having all or most of the skills required, compared to 61.8% of those placed in the course by instructor recommendation; (3) APS placements had the greatest proportion of successful mid-term ratings (87.6%), followed by TASK (76.7%), and ELSA (60%). Study implications, recommendations, and data tables are provided. (MAB)