AbstractThe WISC and WISC‐R protocols of 94 special education students (51 white males, 5 black males, 30 white females, and 8 black females) who tested in the mildly retarded and borderline range of abilities (IQs of 50–78) were examined. Their test performance was then followed longitudinally for two additional WISC and WISC‐R assessments. Mean age of subjects was 8 years at Test 1, 10.75 years at Test 2, and 14.9 years at Test 3. As predicted, subjects had lower IQ equivalent scores on Bannatyne's Sequencing Ability category than their IQ equivalent scores on the Verbal Comprehension or Perceptual Organization factors of the WISC and WISC‐R for all three testings. Results were interpreted as supporting the notion that mildly retarded children and learning disabled children have qualitatively similar learning p