Conducted in Wisconsin, this study evaluated two literacy programs--the Mott Basic Language Skills Program and the Sullivan "Programmed Reading for Adults"-- in order to develop a more effective adult basic education (ABE) curriculum. Attention was also given to relationships between selected student characteristics and measured improvement in reading abilities, component parts of the adult literacy systems and the relative effectiveness of components as judged in observations of student reactions and progress. Pretest and posttest measures of selected primary reading skills were given to 42 Spanish speaking, functionally illiterate adults who were learning English as a second language. Qualified ABE instructors were obtained who were not acquainted with or biased toward either the Mott or the Sullivan system, and who would teach them as independent and separate treatments. The Mott and the Sullivan system both proved effective in teaching the subject English as a second language. Motivation to learn, and initial speaking ability in English, were also highly significant to success. (The report includes a bibliography, 39 tables, observation forms, an evaluation checklist, and excerpts from Mott Basic Language Skills and the Sullivan programed reading system.) (LY)