The study involving 105 learning disabled students (6 to 12 years old) investigated the effects of the sex and race of students to determine if these factors were salient to initial placement in elementary learning disabilities classrooms, to the amount or type of instruction received in reading, to the learning behaviors students exhibit in reading, or to students' academic progress. Highlights of previous research on the relationship of sex and race to performance and treatment differences in elementary school classrooms were reviewed. The evaluation unit of the Learning Research and Development Center studied reading instruction in an urban school district's elementary classrooms for the learning disabled for 2 years. To assess the relative efficacy of specific practices, Ss were pretested in the fall using the Level I Reading Subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales and were posttested in the spring of the following year using the WRAT, the Spache, and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills. Results of the analysis regarding differential placement suggested that there is a race and sex relationship to placement. It appeared that Black girls, while they are less likely to be placed overall, are more likely to be placed correctly. The level of achievement, teacher instructional behaviors, and student behaviors were remarkably similar for all student groups although there was a significant sex by race interaction for oral reading (White girls read aloud more), a significant race effect for off task (Whites were off task more), and a significant sex effect for rewards and waiting/managing materials (girls got more rewards and waited/managed more). (SB)