A study sought to compare the performance of elementary school students referred for learning difficulties on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and to examine similarities and differences in performance on the two instruments between those placed in learning-disabled (LD) programs and those not placed. Of the 133 students, ages 6 to 12, administered the test, 82 were subsequently placed in LD programs. K-ABC scores were slightly lower than WISC-R scores for both groups. Correlations among the global scales of both instruments were all significant. Students placed in LD programs demonstrated lower scores on the Achievement Scale of the K-ABC and the Arithmetic and Reading/Decoding subtests as compared to the students not placed in the LD programs. Although the school-identified LD students revealed a greater variability in mean global scores, subtest profiles for both groups of students were remarkably similar. (CB)