THE EXTENSION OF THE CONCEPT OF READINESS INTO EDUCATION EARLIER IN THIS CENTURY RESULTED IN STUDIES WHICH CONCLUDED THAT CHILDREN ARE NOT READY TO READ UNTIL A MENTAL AGE OF 6.5. BUT ACTUAL RESEARCH ON PRESCHOOL READING WAS, AS OF 1957, EXTREMELY LIMITED. TWO LONGITUDINAL STUDIES WERE UNDERTAKEN TO REMEDY THIS LACK. BOTH STUDIES SOUGHT TO DETERMINE THE PERCENTAGE OF PRESCHOOL READERS ENTERING THE FIRST GRADE, THE EFFECT OF THIS ABILITY ON LATER READING ACHIEVEMENT, AND FACTORS WHICH PROMOTED THIS ABILITY. THE FIRST STUDY, BEGUN IN SEPTEMBER 1958, WAS BASED ON A SAMPLE DRAWN FROM 5,103 FIRST GRADERS IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. IN THIS GROUP WERE FOUND 49 PREREADERS, OR LESS THAN 1 PERCENT. THESE 49 WERE GIVEN IQ TESTS AND WERE TESTED FOR READING ACHIEVEMENT EACH YEAR UNTIL 1964. THE FAMILIES WERE INTERVIEWED TO DETERMINE THEIR SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND, THE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY READERS, AND THE WAY IN WHICH THE EARLY READING ABILITY DEVELOPED. THE SECOND STUDY, STARTED IN SEPTEMBER 1961, TESTED 4,465 NEW YORK CITY FIRST GRADERS AND FOUND 156 EARLY READERS, OR ABOUT 3-1/2 PERCENT. A SPECIAL GROUP OF 30 NONEARLY READERS WAS MATCHED ON SEX AND IQ WITH A GROUP OF 30 PREREADERS. MUCH THE SAME KINDS OF DATA WERE GATHERED IN THIS STUDY AS IN THE FIRST. SOME GENERAL CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THESE STUDIES WERE (1) THAT PESSIMISTIC OPINIONS ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF EARLY READING WERE NOT CORROBORATED, AND (2) THAT THE EARLY AND NONEARLY READING CHILDREN WERE NOT MARKEDLY DISSIMILAR. HOWEVER, EARLY READERS TENDED TO COME FROM FAMILIES THAT WERE MORE WILLING TO HELP CHILDREN LEARN TO READ. THE FINDINGS OF THESE STUDIES ALSO SUGGEST THAT KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS SHOULD ASSIST AND ENCOURAGE THOSE CHILDREN WHO WISH TO LEARN TO READ. CASE STUDIES OF SOME PREREADERS IN BOTH STUDIES AND SOME NONEARLY READERS OF THE NEW YORK STUDY ARE INCLUDED. THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE FOR $4.25 FROM TEACHERS COLLEGE PRESS, TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK 10027. (DR)