An examination of classroom behavior, teaching methods, materials, equipment, and administrative practices in a junior high school reading and speech improvement class, in a senior high school communication skills course for low achievers, and in an English class for high achievers revealed that (1) shifting populations result in transiency, crowding, and increasingly heterogeneous classes in urban schools; (2) an effective curriculum requires options to meet the special needs of high and low achievers; (3) the importance of oral language has not been realized; (4) experimental curricula influence the methods and materials of conventional classes within the same school; (5) involvement of teachers is seen as the single most important dynamic in effecting curriculum change; and (6) the administrative procedure of block scheduling slows down curriculum change, while the use of citizens advisory councils tends to accelerate it. Recommendations were that the junior high school reading and speech class be scheduled for the 7th grade; that, beyond the 10th grade, the senior high course for low achievers become a limited elective with reading, speaking, and writing courses as options; and that the class for high achievers be re-evaluated and more boys be included, especially Negroes. (Author/MF)