This study examines, through the use of a group screening instrument, the oral language comprehension skills of elementary school children. The screening instrument was composed of 60 experimental sentences of varying syntactic complexity. Each sentence contained a specific function word or combination of function words which conveyed a direction to be followed. Subjects included 277 first-grade through sixth-grade pupils in an integrated, southeastern city school system. The screening instrument was administered to small groups; each student was then rated with regard to oral language comprehension ability, using the Auditory Comprehension Section of the Pupil Rating Scale. In general, it was found that subjects' comprehension of the experimental sentences increased as their grade level increased. Statistically significant differences between the performance of Negro students and white students were noted, as were developmental trends in students' comprehension of 46 of the 60 sentences. No differences were established as a function of sex. Words which reflected developmental trends are listed, and recommendations for further research in the area of oral comprehension are made. (Author/KS)