Research data consistently demonstrates that white school children score higher on tests of academic ability than Negro children of the same age and grade level, and that this discrepancy increases with time. Is this discrepancy due to a lack of learning proficiency on the part of Negro children or to a lack of learning opportunity? In an attempt to answer this question, 48 lower class Negro children and 48 upper-middle class white children from kindergarten, first, and third grade were given (1) a paired-associate (P-A) task, (2) the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and (3) the Raven Progressive Matrices test. The latter two tests are used to measure intelligence, while the P-A task measures learning proficiency. The test results showed that the white children performed significantly better than the Negro children on tests (2) and (3). The P-A data showed a small discrepancy between the two groups (diminishing in magnitude with increasing grade level) which suggested that the tested Negro children should have learned as well as the white group. Lack of skill in learning tactics appears to be the main handicap of these children as they continued to improve on P-A tasks with practice while the other group did not. Instructional programs that are concrete, explicit, and specific offer the most to lower class children who need skill mastery. Tests to measure learning proficiency must also be developed. (WD)