In fall 1987, a study was conducted at Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) to examine the college's system of basic skills assessment for course placement. The study investigated the adequacy of established cut scores; placement evasion (i.e., the disregarding of a recommendation to take a developmental course) and its consequences; the use of reading scores to place students in social and behavioral science classes; and the comparative advantages and disadvantages of recommended and mandatory placement. Study findings included the following: (1) the analysis of cut score adequacy suggested that cut scores for both math and English should be raised modestly to reduce failure rates; (2) a high incidence of placement evasion was found in math, with a more moderate incidence in English; (3) students who ignored placement recommendations for developmental courses failed transfer courses much more frequently than students whose assessment scores indicated initial placement in a transfer course; (4) no relationship was found between reading scores and success in introductory sociology or history courses, but high reading scores were positively related to success in introductory psychology; and (5) evidence was found in support of mandatory placement, however, the failure rates in developmental courses suggested that a review of curricula accompany any move toward mandatory placement. (EJV)