This study was designed to compare Negro dialect-speaking first graders' comprehension of material presented in standard English and in Negro dialect. Thirty boys and 30 girls from Title 1 schools in a ghetto area were randomly assigned to a standard English or a Negro dialect treatment group after being stratified as male and female and as high, average, and low according to Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test scores. Students in both groups performed two listening tasks: (1) listening to two stories and answering questions which tested literal comprehension, and (2) listening to and retelling two additional stories. Answers to the questions were tabulated and subjects' retelling of the stories were analyzed to determine the number of accurate, literal, interpretive, and evaluative statements made by subjects in each category. Findings showed a statistically significant difference at the .01 level (favoring those receiving the standard English treatment) in the number of literal statements made by subjects as they retold stories. The results do not indicate the value of producing materials in Negro dialect for beginning reading instruction of Negro dialect speaking children. Neither does the contention that teachers of Negro dialect speaking children will find speaking Negro dialect beneficial find support. (Author/DD)