This study is an effort to assess both the internal and external conditions of learning. The sample included 99 first graders in four classrooms of one inner city school in a large midwestern city. The assessment measure was a battery of tests selected from frequently used tests of visual perception, auditory discrimination, language, memory, cognition, and motor skills. The inner city classrooms, when compared to standardized populations, showed much greater variability and significant means differences on the majority of test items. The patterns of disability fell into modal profiles that presented essential information for educational prescription. Behavioral observations of dependency and aggression, when combined with ratings of teacher-pupil interaction, yielded information about classroom climate. Short term gains from the study included modification of curriculum grouping and staffing. Long term gains are expected to include progress toward validating an assessment battery and supplemental knowledge about the interaction between the pattern of children's capabilities and the climate of the classroom. (Author/AE)