This investigation was designed to identify scales indicative of the development of problem-solving behavior in young children, and to discover whether children of different backgrounds exhibit similarities in the order of development and levels of achievement of problem-solving behaviors. Items from twenty-two tests were selected for use. Conclusions were: a) there are proble-solving skills that develop in the same order among children of extremely different backgrounds; b) there are particular problem-solving skills that develop in a different order for disadvantaged and advantaged children; c) many item sets did not scale reliably for the disadvantaged children. Appendices containing specific data are included. (MS)