The REEP (Arlington Education and Employment Program) 2-year special project, which set out to research, develop, field-test, and establish recommendations for alternative assessment methods for the language and literacy development of adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), is described and evaluated. Goals and needs of 117 adult students were determined, and plans for assessing their progress were developed. Benchmarks were created by identifying skills, behaviors, and attitudes indicating progress in cognitive, linguistics, and non-linguistic domains. Assessment processes and tools were field-tested and refined during the project's first year, then were adapted to multiple settings (workplace, drop-in center) in the second year. The project also determined the feasibility of aggregating data from alternative assessments for reporting purposes, developed a process and guidelines for and alternative assessment system in a variety of settings, and served as a demonstration site for teachers. It was found that the alternative assessment process itself was helpful for teacher development, and while alternative assessment is time-consuming, it enables teachers to substantiate promotion and retention decisions. Recommendations include further exploration of ways to streamline data collection, analysis, and reporting, and adoption of ESL proficiency standards for the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education) (MSE)