Eight normally developing preschool children manifesting incomplete mastery of /r/ articulation repeated three times at four week intervals sentences containing the allophones [3 r 2] embedded in various consonantal contexts. Two judges evaluated /r/ allophone production as correct or incorrect. Children whose /r/ production improved showed greater success with [3 r] articulation than with [2]. Results indicate that normally developing children may be distinguished from more slowly developing children on the basis of differential success with production of various /r/ allophones.