In spring 1987, a study was conducted at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley (Missouri) to identify the basic skills necessary for the successful completion of the course, "Fundamentals of Chemistry." The study evaluated the relationship between performance on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT), the Numerical Reasoning subtest of the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT), and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and final chemistry grades in Fundamentals of Chemistry. Study findings, based on test scores and grades for 118 chemistry students, indicated that: (1) there was a moderate relationship between NDRT scores and course success, with a stronger relationship for vocabulary skills than comprehension skills; (2) the relationship between WGCTA scores and final grades was not as strong as the reading relationship, and the correlation between DAT scores and grades was even weaker; and (3) reading scores lower than the 20th percentile were strongly correlated with unsuccessful grades. (EJV)