During the 1994-95 academic year, a task force on underpreparedness was convened at Golden West College, in Huntington Beach, California, to address the large number of students underprepared for college work. The task force examined records from the 1992-93 and 1993-94 academic years with regard to student academic status, gender, race/ethnicity, primary language, time out of school, performance in math and English courses, high school grade point average (GPA), number of hours of employment, importance of college to both the student and people close to the student, and basic skills performance. This information was matched with data collected during an assessment process. Using students' probation/disqualification (P/D) status as the primary indicator of student unpreparedness, study results indicated the following: (1) for each year examined, about 83% of enrolled students maintained good academic standing, 14% were on academic P/D, and 3% were on progress P/D; (2) there were no important differences in terms of student gender or primary language in terms of P/D rates; (3) P/D rates for Pacific Islander and African American students were notably higher than the rates for other racial groups; (4) native English speakers were more likely to be on P/D if they were in school at the time of assessment or had been out of school for a short time, had a lower high school GPA, or enrolled in a higher number of units; and (5) non-native English speakers were more likely to be on P/D if they had a low math or English grade, and were still in or had been out of school for a short time. The assessment instrument and 20 data tables are included. (MAB)