THE ENVIRONMENT OF CHILDREN FROM LOW SOCIO-ECONOMIC LEVELS MILITATES STRONGLY AGAINST THEIR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL. TO HELP THWART OR REVERSE THE DEFICIENCES OF DISADVANTAGED YOUTH, THE PRESCHOOL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM WAS CREATED. THIS DOCUMENT IS AN EVALUATION OF A 1965 SUMMER HEADSTART PROGRAM FOR 4- AND 5-YEAR-OLDS IN KEARNEY, NEBRASKA. TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED TO HEADSTART CHILDREN AT THE BEGINNING OF THAT PROGRAM AND AGAIN NEAR THE END OF KINDERGARTEN. THE RESULTS WERE COMPARED WITH TEST SCORES OF A MATCHED GROUP OF NON-HEADSTART CHILDREN TESTED AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF KINDERGARTEN. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS COMPARISON WAS TO SEE IF THE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM PLUS KINDERGARTEN RESULTED IN GREATER ACHIEVEMENT THAN KINDERGARTEN, ALONE, WOULD HAVE PRODUCED. THE GENERAL CONCLUSION FROM THE RESULTS OF THE TESTS OF (1) INTELLECTUAL ABILITY, (2) VISUAL-MOTOR PERCEPTION, (3) ACHIEVEMENT, AND (4) SOCIAL GROWTH AND ADJUSTMENT WAS THAT THE FORMER COMBINATION PRODUCED GREATER GAINS. STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN FAVOR OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WERE ACTUALLY OBTAINED ONLY WITH RESPECT TO THE TEST OF INTELLECTUAL ABILITY, BUT FAVORABLE TRENDS WERE OBSERVED GENERALLY. A SECONDARY PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT ON DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN'S RESPONSES OF USING LOW FIDELITY STIMULI OR HIGH FIDELITY STIMULI IN VARIOUS PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR EXERCISES. THE RESULTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE. THE DOCUMENT ALSO INCLUDES A BREIF REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON ACHIEVEMENT BY THE CULTURALLY DEPRIVED, AND SEVERAL CASE STUDIES OF CHILDREN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE HEADSTART PROGRAM. (WD)