Adolescence was the focus of an Urban Development Forum, a component of the Research for Better Schools, that explored the factors of effective schooling in terms of their impact on young people in large, urban systems. This forum featured a major presentation by Joseph Adelson. Focusing his presentation on the cognitive growth in adolescence, he reported on two major investigations of young people--a cross-national project and a study of an American urban population--both of which involved in-depth interviews of teenage subjects and a major analysis of findings. Reporting to educators concerned with effective schools, he highlights five topics that are involved in the teenager's readiness to think fruitfully about social and humanistic matters: (1) the community, (2) the law, (3) principles, (4) grasp of psychology, and (5) understanding the social order. Four speakers commented on Adelson's presentation: David Elkin (a Piagetian by training and conception), Allan Glatthorn (a specialist in curriculum development), Ione Vargas (a dean of the School of Social Administration at Temple University), and Frederick McDonald (a senior research psychologist at Educational Testing Service). The papers of these five presenters are contained in this document and provide perspectives on adolescence and information for further educational thought. (PN)