THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING OF PROFESSIONAL AND LAY PEOPLE REGARDING CHILDREN'S PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT, PARTICULARLY IN REGARD TO EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS. THE SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE STUDY RELATED TO THIS PURPOSE WERE--(1) THE ANALYSIS OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND READING GROWTH, (2) THE COMPARISON OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SIBLINGS AND UNRELATED CHILDREN, AND (3) A COMPARISON OF THE FERNDALE DATA AND DATA COLLECTED AT THE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL IN ANN ARBOR. THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE DATA WAS DRAWN FROM RECORDS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF FERNDALE, MICHIGAN. SIX YEARS AGO, THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT BEGAN A LONGITUDINAL TESTING PROGRAM OF CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE WHO WERE MEASURED TWICE YEARLY FOR PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND ACADEMIC GROWTH WITH ALL MEASUREMENTS CONVERTED INTO AGE UNITS. RECORDS WERE AVAILABLE ON 2,920 CHILDREN IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES. IN ADDITION TO TESTING THEORETICAL CONCEPTS OF DEVELOPMENT, STATISTICAL ANALYSES OF THE DATA PERMITTED CONTRASTS OF PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT RELATED TO SUCH FACTORS AS SEX, RACE, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, CLASS SIZE, AND INSTRUCTIONAL GROUPING. THE FINDINGS OF THE FERNDALE PROJECT SUGGEST THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS AND TEACHERS IS THAT OF LEARNING HOW TO BETTER COPE WITH THE LARGE AND DYNAMIC VARIABILITY IN GROWTH STATUS, GROWTH RATE, AND GROWTH PATTERN WHICH IS CHARACTERISTIC OF GROWING CHILDREN. (GC)