This booklet by a committee appointed to assess the teaching implications of the Reading and Writing tests of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) is intended to provide ways of helping teachers assist students to improve their skills in reading and writing by, in part, pinpointing the major weaknesses of students taking the NJCBSPT. The booklet is divided into five parts: (1) observations about student performance on the test; (2) conclusions based upon these observations as well as upon committee members' experience in the classroom; (3) practical recommendations for the teaching of reading and writing; (4) sample questions from the NJCBSPT and examples of student responses to a recently administered writing topic; and (5) a bibliography offering resource material for the teaching of reading and writing. (RS)