A study was undertaken to examine the performance of Puente Project students compared to that of Mexican-American students and Anglo-American students in community colleges. Surveys and interviews with Puente counselors were conducted to explore methods and techniques used to deal with potential dropouts. A comparison was made of the number of hours spent on counseling Puente and other Mexican-American students. A video case study was produced in which students gave testimonials to the effects of their educational experiences and compared them to the methods of the Puente Project, and video testimonials of four Puente students on a pre- and post-development English class were completed as well. The Puente English teacher, the Puente counselor, and the Mentor were interviewed. In addition, case studies were conducted on eight Puente Project students to obtain information for a profile on Mexican-American students at Cerritos (California) College. The study provided data showing that the ethnic composition of six English classes at Cerritos College was approximately 70% non-Anglo. The Mexican-American group started at a lower grammar skills mean level than did the Anglo group. The Puente group scored better on a grade point average mean than did either Mexican- or Anglo-American groups. The Puente students had a comparatively higher retention level than (non-Puente) Mexican-American students. The findings, taken together, confirm the effectiveness of the Puente Project in improving the academic achievement levels of Mexican-American students. (NB)