Traditional, product-oriented testing must be abandoned if instructors in college reading and study skills programs are to effectively evaluate student educational outcomes. Such tests are hardly compatible with the way the brain functions, in that they require precise answers to precisely worded questions which are the product of the test-maker's perception system and not that of the test-taker. The functions of a reading or study skills course involve not merely the absorption of facts that can be measured by the numerical results of a test, but a personal process by which each student utilizes course content to reassess and restructure his/her perceptions and responses to his/her school and home environments. Accordingly, a study skills course should allow the student to act as both analyst and recipient of data and should take into consideration the various levels of sophistication in the thought processes of the students. Such a course emphasizes learning (internal activity) rather than teaching (external manipulation) and is best evaluated using an informal process incorporating formative and summative elements. This may be accomplished using group evaluation, open-ended questions, student testimonials, exit interviews with students, and follow-up of students' academic success. (JP)