College-level assessment efforts in New Jersey are described. For more than a dozen years, students in public colleges and universities in New Jersey have been assessed using a common statewide instrument, the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. This test assesses reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering college students as part of an assessment of students and an evaluation of remedial programs. In 1985, New Jersey embarked on a more ambitious program to assess higher education including student learning and development, impact on community and society, and outcomes of faculty research. The new statewide assessment effort, the College Outcomes Evaluation Program, features development of a "sophomore test," the General Intellectual Skills Assessment, aimed at assessing higher order skills of critical thinking, problem solving, quantitative reasoning, and writing. As the nation struggles with questions of assessing the literacy of college students and other adults, New Jersey has already developed a workable system including a reliable and valid performance assessment. Three appendices and one chart provide further information about the New Jersey assessments. A seven-item list of references is included. Reviews by R. L. Larson, M. Scriven, and R. G. Swanson of this paper are provided. (SLD)