Although there is general agreement upon a number of factors that contribute to early school success, the extent to which the student population has changed since the inception of most curricula and teaching methods has created some unique problems. This paper describes the Manzo-Meeks-Eanet Difference Inventory, which was devised to measure the degree to which students' backgrounds and attitudes coincide with the expectations of schools, and which was used in a survey of the reading needs of secondary-level students attending a city high school with a multiethnic population. The inventory consists of statements designed to tap students' self-concepts and social orientations, as well as to gauge socioeducational factors which might influence academic achievement. Items are grouped in the following categories: temperament and hope, familiarity with life options, exposure to cognitive and aesthetic pursuits, family unit, biological and attitudinal factors essential to traditional classwork, and family expectations as identified with cultural strata. Results of administration of the inventory to samples of several populations in the Kansas City, Missouri, area are outlined. (KS)