Two hypotheses were examined in this research project: (1) children with high level perceptual skills in the initial assessment will retain their advantage but will grow less in skills than children with low level skills development at the outset; and (2) after a period of skills development, children with high level skills development will show greater readiness for the first grade than children with lower levels of skills development. Subjects were 132 kindergarten children, divided into six classes by ability, who were assessed individually prior to and after 6 months of the program. To measure growth, the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities and the Metropolitan Readiness Tests were employed. The first part of the first hypothesis was supported, but the second part was not. The second hypothesis was supported. In general, the skills development program markedly contributed both to higher scores in skills development after 6 or 8 months and to greater than normal growth of the children. (DO)