A longitudinal study evaluated whether early remediation affected the persistence and/or performance of underprepared students at a midwestern, suburban community college. The study focused on the 3,282 students who completed the basic skills inventory in either Fall 1991 or Fall 1992. Students were classified as either prepared (N=2,028) or underprepared (N=1,254). Variables such as sex, age, number of terms attended, and cumulative grade point average were among the variables evaluated using Astin's input-environment-output model. Findings concurred with other studies of persistence and remediation in that the variables "cumulative grade point average" (GPA) and "number of remedial courses," impacted underprepared community college student persistence. Findings also suggested that early remediation, taking a remedial class within the first year, and a degree-seeking intent were also significant predictors of persistence, particularly for those students most underprepared for a college level curriculum. The variables "age,""ethnicity,""gender," and "degree-seeking intent," were significant predictors of academic performance (cumulative GPA) for underprepared college students. A model was developed which predicted 19 percent of the variance in persistence of underprepared community college students. (Contains 6 tables, 1 figure, and 25 references.) (DB)