A study was conducted to evaluate the performance after one academic year of new students at Essex County College, an urban institution with a predominantly black student body. The population for the study was the fall 1974 freshman class. General findings of the study included: (1) 72.4% of the students registered for 12 or more credits; (2) the male-female ratio remained approximately the same after one year of college (38% male to 62% female); (3) no significant difference was found between the number of credits attempted and the credits completed in the fall and winter semesters; (4) more A's were earned in the fall than in the winter; (5) incomplete grades were approximately the same for all departments for both semesters; and (6) students in all departments withdrew more frequently in the winter than they did in the fall. Overall, the failure rate for the population appeared to confirm the incongruity between high motivation and low academic performance since the data showed that most grades were concentrated at the extremes. It was recommended in light of this finding that some discussion of academic standards might be appropriate, in terms of the amount and extent of refinement of the behavior change demanded of students. (JDS)