The author examines the effectiveness of the Inquiry Strategy method which he hypothesizes to be useful in developing an analytical cognitive style. Ninety-two subjects from four, large urban high schools were involved. Forty-two were experimental, having received 2-3 years of Inquiry Strategy exposure in their late elementary or early junior high years. The other 50 S's were comparisons whose science teaching had been exclusively conventional. From this subject pool, both a longitudinal group and a cross-sectional group were formed. The Sigel Cognitive Style Test was used to assess the subjects' style of categorization. Results indicate that: (1) the Inquiry Process has a significant effect on a student's analytical ability; and (2) these effects are fairly persistent over a period of five or six years. Implications are discussed. (TL)