In 1980, a study was conducted to evaluate the cognitive development of community college graduates. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. The control variables used in the analysis were three socioeconomic variables and scores on two standardized tests of verbal and mathematical achievement. The independent variable was level of education (i.e., high school, two-year college, or four-year college) and the outcome measures were scores on verbal and mathematics tests administered in 1979. Separate analyses were performed for blacks (N=327) and whites (N=1273). The study revealed that: (1) for white students, verbal and mathematics achievement was higher among those who received postsecondary education than those who terminated their education after high school; (2) both black and white students who went on to postsecondary institutions received higher scores on the verbal test in 1979 than in 1972, though during this period their mathematics scores declined; (3) the greatest relative improvement in verbal skills among blacks came from those who had graduated from four-year colleges; and (4) blacks from two-year colleges did not perform better on the 1979 verbal test than blacks with a high school education. A major study conclusion was that two-year colleges contribute to students' cognitive development, but that benefits to black students are less evident than benefits to white students. (HB)