The correlation between the efficiency of photogeneration of dissociated polarons and photocurrent densities for organic solar cells based on polymer:fullerene blend films is investigated. Optical assays of polaron yield measured in films without electrodes show a remarkably clear correlation with short circuit density and quantum yield measured in complete devices. For the blend films studied herein, the primary determinant of photocurrent generation is the efficiency of dissociation of photogenerated charges away from the polymer/fullerene interface and the primary loss pathway is geminate recombination.