In 1979-80, a study was conducted at Dundalk Community College (DCC) to assess the procedures and instruments used to place students in the three options of its developmental education program: Option A (for students with the lowest assessment scores), Option B (for those with low assessment scores), and regular developmental courses. The study involved tracking the students registered in Options A and B, a sample of students from traditional developmental courses, and a random sample of nondevelopmental students. The study report describes the size and selection of the study sample; describes the nationally normed tests, questionnaires, and survey instruments used to place the students and to assess their ability and achievement; describes how the data were analyzed; discusses study limitations; and presents the research questions. The study results are presented with respect to the following research questions: (1) how effective are the assessment instruments; (2) which assessment instruments are most predictive of success; (3) was the Self Assessment Checklist developed by DCC correlated to nationally normed scores; (4) did students and faculty agree on placement decisions; (5 and 6) how successful were students who followed the placement recommendations and those who did not; and (7 and 8) how important are affective skills and student goals with respect to academic success. After conclusions and recommendations are presented, appendices provide statements of policies and procedures, the survey and assessment forms, and explanations of computer programming concerns. (AYC)