This study investigated the performance of black children and white children on the grammatic closure subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities. Ninety-six children, who were attending kindergarten, second, and fourth grades, were examined. They were equally divided for sex, race, and grade placement. Results indicated that kindergarten children, regardless of race and sex, performed similarly; however, black children of both sexes did significantly poorer than white children in higher grades. When allowances were made for some black English responses, however, all children in each age-group performed similarly. Implications for diagnostic applications are discussed.