Whereas metaanalyses of cross-sectional adoption studies have indicated that there is an impact of early deprivation on adoptee's cognitive ability, these effects generally diminish markedly after upbringing in adoptive homes. Outcomes in terms of scholastic attainment were not quite so positive in a cross-sectional metaanalysis, but the Swedish follow-up study of male conscripts did not find that scholastic attainment was impaired relative to IQ. Both initial impairment and catch-up vary as a function of the length and severity of deprivation experienced. Previous analyses of the ERA data patterns of educational attainment at age 11 indicated that these were largely predictable on the basis of cognitive ability, although symptoms of inattention also played a minor role. In this chapter, the authors tackle two key issues: the validity, and the meaning of, a general factor of overall intelligence "g"; and whether these specific cognitive functions are regularly associated with different types of scholastic performance. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)