The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of four different reading programs on the decoding and comprehension skills of second and third graders. One reading program used a basal reading series which exercised little control over the grapheme-phoneme correspondences presented in the vocabulary. The second program used a basal reading series which exercised close control over grapheme-phoneme regularity. The vocabularies of these two programs were used in the remaining two programs, which emphasized meaning contrasts within basic patterns of language structure through the use of word substitution, pattern expression and elaboration, pattern inversion, and pattern transformation. Teachers were randomly assigned, and all reading programs were new to the teachers using them. Reading achievement tests were administered to the pupils in May 1966 and May 1967. Higher decoding skills were attained when controlled regularity of grapheme-phoneme correspondences and emphasized language structure were combined in the same method than when emphasized language structure was presented alone. When used alone, grapheme-phoneme correspondences did not produce decoding skills superior to those produced by the program placing little emphasis on correspondence control. (WL)