Historically, colleges have used standardized testing to determine whether a student is ready for college-level work or requires developmental courses first, but this method has been criticized as inaccurate. To obtain more accurate placements, nearly three-quarters of colleges now use multiple measures assessment (MMA) systems. These systems typically do consider students' scores on standardized tests, but they also incorporate additional measures of academic preparedness such as high school grade point average (GPA). This report synthesizes findings from two studies that compare the effects of traditional test-only course placement to MMA course placement. These studies, conducted by the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR), involved 12 community colleges across three states (New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) and 29,999 students. Students were randomly assigned to either a test-only placement group or an MMA placement group, and their subsequent academic outcomes were compared. The main findings from this analysis are: (1) For most students, the course placement systems "agreed," so their placement system assignment was inconsequential; (2) MMA improved academic performance when it allowed students to bypass a developmental course they otherwise would have been required to take; (3) MMA had a negative impact on academic performance when it imposed a developmental course requirement on students who would otherwise have been placed directly into a college-level course; (4) The evidence shows that referring more students directly to college-level courses is more important than a placement system that better predicts success in college-level courses; and (5) The cost to a college of implementing MMA is small. For students and society, MMA saves money because students take fewer courses but end up with more college-level credits. This research finds evidence that colleges should consider increasing the total number of students referred directly to college-level courses, whether by lowering their requirements for direct placement into college-level courses or by implementing other policies with the same effect.