The present experiment employed a visual signal-detection task within a cost-benefit (inhibitionfacilitation) paradigm to examine the effects of selective attention on perceptual sensitivity. A central cue directed the subjects' attention to either a right or a left spatial location where a detection task was performed. The cue was either a high/low or neutral-validity indicator of the position in which an event was likely to occur. A rating-scale response scheme in conjunction with the subjects' target signallocational judgments allowed for the construction of ROC curves for each condition. Significant benefits were found for all subjects, supporting the hypothesis that selective attention can enhance perceptual sensitivity. Deallocation of attention resulted in an inhibition of sensitivity in unattended spatial locations. Subjects were consistently most sensitive in the right spatial location. There were no significant differences in overall response bias among the three conditions or in spatial locations. The results support theories of attention, such as "perceptual tuning," that suggest very early selective control.

Early childhood intervention programs should target those low birthweight infants most at risk for impaired cognitive development. Children at greatest risk are those living with unmarried, low IQ mothers.

A substantial disparity exists for academic achievement in science between Black and White primary-school children. A similar gap exists between boys and girls. The extent to which secondary education influences these achievement gaps has not been established. The authors report analyses showing how these science achievement gaps change as a function of secondary education. Analyses of data from a large, nationally representative longitudinal study of academic achievement showed that racial disparities and disparities associated with gender continue to increase throughout high school.

Data from a large representative sample of American kindergarten children were used to examine the relationship between prekindergarten child care arrangements and the frequency of severe externalizing behaviors among these children. Compared to parental care children, there was no increase in relative risk of severe externalizing behaviors for nonrelative and center care children. Head Start and relative care were associated with an increase in the relative risk of behavior problems; however, it appears that the increases in these care settings were the result of selection factors rather than experience in the settings. Public policy implications were discussed.

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