THIS EXPLORATORY STUDY EXAMINED THE WAYS IN WHICH DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN ARE ASSESSED FOR PLACEMENT AND REGROUPING IN AN UNGRADED PRIMARY UNIT. THE STUDY ALSO ATTEMPTED TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE ADMINISTRATION AND TEACHERS HAD PRECONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE CHILD. FINDINGS ARE BASED ON SURVEYS OF THE DIRECTIVES AND PUBLICATIONS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, EXTENSIVE INTERVIEWS, AND INTENSIVE CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE KEY FACTOR IN THE PLACEMENT OF THE PUPILS WAS THE SYSTEM'S TESTING PROGRAM, WHICH WAS ONLY SLIGHTLY INFLUENCED BY TEACHER JUDGMENTS. LESS OBVIOUS INFLUENCES ON TEACHER ASSESSMENT WERE STUDENTS' SKIN COLOR AND SPEECH PATTERNS AND SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS. THE PERSONALITY OF THE TEACHER ALSO AFFECTED ASSESSMENT PRACTICES AND STUDENTS' RESPONSES. IT WAS ALSO FOUND THAT BOTH THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE TEACHER USED AN ACHIEVEMENT-INTELLECTUAL MODEL OF THE CHILD IN WHICH INTELLIGENCE IS VIEWED AS INNATE AND WHERE THE CHILD PLAYS A PASSIVE ROLE IN HIS OWN LEARNING EXPERIENCES. A NEED WAS EXPRESSED FOR "USEFUL AND USABLE" QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES. INCLUDED IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES AND A DISCUSSION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND CLASSROOM MODELS OF THE UNGRADED PRIMARY UNIT USED IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM UNDER STUDY. THERE IS AN EXTENSIVE APPENDIX CONTAINING THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULES AND TEACHER EVALUATION FORMS USED IN THIS STUDY. (NH)