During the two years of research reported here, an attempt was made to differentiate those participants--all fourth graders--in an enriched educational program for disadvantaged ghetto children in several Harlem public schools who were thought to profit from a compensatory program, from those who did not. The guiding hypothesis is that the styles and modes of information exchange and communication developed by a family provide behavior norms and perspectives that become internalized by its school-going members. During the first year, a complex family interview technique was developed and used; during the second year it was cross-validated. Also, the second year population was tested with the Missouri Childrens' Picture Series Scale and the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Ability: additional steps were designed to find out more about the variables associated with "high" or "low" achievement. In brief, more differentiated, smaller, knowledgeable, and stable families, in terms of more conforming and less aggressive children, stable eating arrangements, even mother's wish to work around the house without being interrupted, are associated with higher level cognitive and communicational ratings. [Parts of this document will not be sharply legible due to the quality of the typeface of the original.] (Author/JM)