| Sumario: | The major purpose of this research was to compare the cognitive development of four subcultural groups (black and white, lower- and middle- class) of boys. The subcultural groups, age range, and measures used were chosen to test the theorizing of Jensen (1969). The total design included four longitudinal and two additional samples covering the ages from 6 through 9. The measures were conceptually divided into memory, intelligence, learning, and transfer. A delayed posttest made it possible to compare 9-year-old groups on memory for answers on learning and transfer tasks. Analyses of longitudinal data were computed to compare subcultural groups on both level of performance and rate of development on each measure. The additional samples were used to determine the importance of age, cohort, and practice. It was also possible to compute the relationship between performance on measures collected and the California Achievement Test. While the race and social class differences typically found were replicated, the major result was the absence of an age X subcultural group interaction in nearly all analyses. There were no systematic effects found for cohort or practice. Hence, it would appear that black and lower-class children are behind at 6 but continue to progress cognitively at approximately the same rate as middle-class children until at least 9. In addition, no subcultural group differences were found on the delayed posttest. Finally, it was determined that in most cases the measures predicted achievement test scores equally well for all subcultural groups. Results were interpreted as supporting a differential readiness position.
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