The purposes of this study were to see if an objective composition test could be constructed that would correlate positively with grades on written compositions and to investigate the effects of native language background and total language proficiency on written composition skills. The objective composition test that was constructed consisted of 16 items and was administered to 93 students. The correlation of .73 between the objective composition test and written composition grades was significant at the .01 level. Conclusions were that skill in composition appears to be a function of total language proficiency; the scores of the objective composition test and the subtests indicate that the objective composition test measured grammatical correctness and vocabulary in addition to some measures of reading; objective composition tests can be constructed for diagnostic purposes and still correlate positively with actual composition grades; and an objective composition test may be a time saver when the number of students being tested is so large that neither time nor grading assistance makes it possible to have the students write a composition. (Author/RB)