Recommendations and guidelines are presented for the educational diagnosis of students entering the Los Rios Community College District. The paper first underscores the need for a diagnostic process to help students assess their potential for academic success, and then recommends: (1) the assessment of past academic and work experience, basic skills, preferred learning styles, and individual interests as part of student diagnosis; (2) the determination of personnel and budgetary needs for such a diagnostic program at the institutional level; (3) the formation of a district task force to coordinate campus diagnostic programs; and (4) the use of counselors and academic advisors in explaining the results of diagnostic tests to the student. The anticipated beneficial effects of the program on student retention, curriculum development, and student academic achievement are then discussed and the current diagnostic practices at American River College, Consumnes River College, and Sacramento City College are examined. Issues of who should be tested and how should the results be used are considered prior to an enumeration of special problems, including the danger of putting students into preconceived categories based on diagnostic scores or of using these scores as admission criteria. The report provides a chart illustrating the components and the procedures of the diagnostic testing program. (JP)