Studies were some problems of learning motivation and extrinsic reinforcement in a group of disadvantaged youngsters. Also tested was the hypothesis that learning would be facilitated for those children who received regular individual tutoring in addition to classroom instruction, regardless of conditions of reinforcement. Subjects were 60 Negro fourth grade students in a ghetto school, randomly assigned to an experimental group receiving systematic material reinforcement and an experimental group receiving spontaneous verbal reinforcement. Both groups also received tutoring in arithmetic, while a control group did not. Results showed that social reinforcement and individual teaching were the most important factors in academic gains. Incentives in any form were equally reinforcing. "The Negro slum child may not require remediation as much as he may appropriate and effective teaching." (NH)