Presented is the fourth year report of a 4-year longitudinal study comparing effectiveness of seven preschool programs for deaf children. Schools are seen to emphasize either an oral-aural, Rochester (Oral-aural plus finger spelling), or total communication method of instruction. Included in the report are a brief review of literature on educational programs for the deaf, summaries of earlier yearly reports, descriptions of the programs and subjects studied, project findings, and appendixes (such as a classroom observation schedule). Among findings reported are: that Ss' scores on the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) were almost identical to the scores of normal hearing children; that Ss' scores on the Metropolitan Achievement Tests Primer Battery were equal to those of hearing children in reading and were lower in arithmetic; that scores on a Receptive Communication scale showed sound alone to be the least efficient communication mode (44 percent) rising to 88 percent when speechreading, fingerspelling, and signs were added; that improved scores on a test for understanding the printed word (76 percent as compared to 56 percent in 1973 and 38 percent in 1972) reflected increasing emphasis on the teaching of reading; and that deaf children who have been "mainstreamed" do not differ in intelligence, reading, arithmetic achievement, ITPA scores, or overall communication abilities. (LS)