The Richfield, Minnesota, High School Language Arts Department studied the composition skills of 24 classes in grades 10, 11, and 12 to assess (1) improvement in writing skills from each grade level to the next as an indication of the effectiveness of a composition curriculum which emphasized expository writing, a d (2) the effects of lay readers on the composition program. The Sequential Tests of Educational Progress Writing Test, Form 2A, and an impromptu expository composition were used as measures of student achievement. The lay-reader program was evaluated through questionnaires and a comparison of the achievements of classes with and without lay readers. Results indicated that both average-above average students and average-below average students improved from grade to grade, that the mean and median scores of these students were well above national norms, and that lay readers were not a liability to the program but received approval from both students and teachers. (JS)