This report describes an experiment concerned with a possible relationship between the inability to learn basic educational skills, such as reading and writing, and the inability to organize incoming stimuli for communication purposes, in spite of adequate intellectual potential. The study had three main tasks. The first problem was to develop a battery of test items that would be subject to varying degrees of interference and that would be sensitive to a wide range of responses of children between three and six. The second task was to compare the responses of two groups of children, one with expected low language proficiency and one with expected high language proficiency, on the newly devised tests and on a battery of standard tests designed to measure language proficiency. The third step was to study the data and discover the implications for improved educational methods for children with language learning problems, especially those from minority groups. Included are details on personnel, test administration, experimental and standard tests, analysis of the data, conclusions, and implications for further studies. Tables give the statistical results; examples of the experimental test items are provided along with administrative details and references. (VM)