AN EXPERIMENTAL PRESCHOOL PROGRAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF WHICH IS TO HELP THE CHILD TO LEARN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING. ORGANIZED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT COGNITIVE GROWTH PROCEEDS FROM MOTOR TO PERCEPTUAL TO SYMBOLIC FUNCTIONING, THE PROGRAM EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR THINKING AND REASONING. AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF THE PROGRAM WAS CONDUCTED IN WHICH 23 LOWER-MIDDLE CLASS PARTICIPANTS WERE COMPARED WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF SIMILAR CHILDREN ENROLLED IN A TRADITIONAL KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM. PRETESTS OF SCHOOL READINESS SKILLS, VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT, MOTOR COORDINATION, AND INTELLIGENCE WERE ADMINISTERED. INDIVIDUALS WERE MATCHED ACCORDING TO PRETEST SCORES, AGE, SEX, AND SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL. ON 21 OF 25 DEVELOPMENTAL MEASURES ADMINISTERED AS POSTTESTS, THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP EXCELLED SIGNIFICANTLY. THE SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS MOST APPARENT IN THE AREA OF LANGUAGE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA INDICATES THAT THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM IS OF MOST BENEFIT TO THOSE CHILDREN WITH PRETEST SCORES IN THE LOWER RANGE OF INTELLIGENCE. A COMPARISON OF THE DATA ACCUMULATED IN THIS STUDY WITH THAT OF A PREVIOUS STUDY OF CULTURALLY DEPRIVED CHILDREN SUGGESTS THAT THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM IS PARTICULARLY EFFICACIOUS FOR CHILDREN FROM LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS. (JS)