Methods of assessing the reading needs of college students can be examined in relation to two broad categories of college reading programs: (1) the self-contained course or sequence of courses in reading and study skills, and (2) courses or programs in which instruction in reading and study skills is interwoven with supplementary instruction in a content area. The identification of students for required instruction in self-contained courses is overwhelmingly dependent upon standardized test scores. In practice, survey tests, frequently the Nelson Denny Reading Test, are used more often than diagnostic examinations. Researchers disagree on the importance of diagnostic tests and what form they should take. Reading programs interwoven with content area instruction seem to make little use of standardized tests for assessment. Examination of two of these programs reveals more flexible and individual instruction. Although the survey reveals that colleges do rely heavily upon standardized tests for assessment, notable exceptions to this approach reflect theoretical and philsophical orientations that require a more incisive and holistic view of the reader than standardized tests currently provide. (JL)