THE READING PROGRESS OF APPROXIMATELY 600 FIRST-GRADE PUPILS IN 25 CLASSROOMS IN PORTLAND, OREGON, WAS REPORTED. CLASSROOMS WERE SUPPLIED WITH SELF-TEACHING MATERIALS, NO MATERIALS, OR WITH GENERAL INTEREST OR "PLACEBO" MATERIALS. RESEARCH ASSISTANTS VISITED ALL CLASSROOMS WEEKLY. FATHERS AND MOTHERS WERE INTERVIEWED AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END OF THE PROJECT TO LEARN THEIR VIEWS ABOUT THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL, AND INDIRECTLY TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF THE EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS ON PARENT ATTITUDES. FIVE GROUPS OF FIVE CLASSES EACH WERE BALANCED FOR TEACHER AGE AND EXPERIENCE, URBAN-SUBURBAN LOCATION, SOCIOECONOMIC STANDING, PRIOR KINDERGARTEN EXPERIENCE, AND MEDIA READING READINESS SCORES. THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN PERMITTED ASSESSMENT OF THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF SELF-HELP UNITS USED IN THE CLASSROOM AND AT HOME VERSUS THEIR USE ONLY IN THE CLASSROOM. ALSO, IT PROVIDED A BASIS FOR GAUGING THE EFFECTS OF THE NOVELTY OF MATERIALS ALONE. FINALLY, THE GROUP WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS WAS INCORPORATED INTO THE DESIGN TO SERVE AS A BENCHMARK AGAINST WHICH THE EFFECTS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL UNITS AND THE "PLACEBO" MATERIALS COULD BE CONTRASTED. RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SELF-TEACHING MATERIALS, WHILE MANIFEST, WERE FAR OUTWEIGHED BY VARIATIONS IN TEACHER BEHAVIOR AND BY PUPIL DIFFERENCES IN READING READINESS, INTELLIGENCE, AND FAMILY BACKGROUND. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PUPIL PERFORMANCE TENDED TO INCREASE AS THE YEAR PROGRESSED. SUGGESTIONS WERE OFFERED ABOUT POSSIBLE WAYS TO HELP TEACHERS HELP CHILDREN ATTAIN A HIGHER AND MORE UNIFORM LEVEL OF READING ACHIEVEMENT IN THEIR FIRST YEAR OF SCHOOL. (HB)