Findings from the Iowa Assessment Project are examined regarding the assessment and use of information on adaptive behavior and sociocultural background in decisions about students with mild mental retardation. Background aspects reviewed include terminology regarding mild retardation; research, litigation, and legislation on the topic during the 1970s; and an analysis of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) and the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC). Scores of 100 White and 100 Black third graders on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, the SOMPA, the ABIC, and the SOMPA Sociocultural Measures (SCM) were analyzed. Among findings were that the mean ability (academic aptitude) level among Iowa school age children is significantly above the national population average and the ABIC norms are accurate for Iowa children. Policy implications include justification of higher IQ cutoff score in Iowa than suggested by the American Association on Mental Deficiency; recognition of limitations of the ABIC; and the need for further research on SOMPA SCM validity and reliability. (CL)