This paper reports an attempt to replicate previously published findings on the interrelationship between free-recall performance and selected cognitive abilities. In Experiment I, 300 7th and 12th graders responded to a battery of eight intelligence and memory tests and were then randomly assigned to one of three pre-learning instructional conditions (control, organizational chunking, and rote rehearsal). In Experiment II, 120 3rd and 10th graders were asked to recall items either immediately or following a 30-second delay (the latter presumably fostering conceptual activity). Utilizing a rote-conceptual distinction as potentially relevant in mediating interrelations between abilities and learning, the authors expected that systematic differentiated patterns of recall-ability covariation would emerge as a function of age, practice, and experimental treatment. However, most of the predictions were not confirmed, even those serving to replicate the previous findings. It is argued that such negative results necessitate a closer examination of the underlying theoretical model--specifically, a more thorough consideration of the appropriate treatment conditions and ability markers. (Author)