Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI), like other reading programs, does work, but only for certain teachers and with certain youngsters. On the positive side, IPI sets up a series of steps that allow the teacher to know where the child is and in what direction he is going. It enables the teacher to know his subject matter well, and enables the child to move at his own rate. However, there are negative aspects of the program. (1) There is the possibility of rote prescription on the part of the teacher. (2) The individual rate of learning, as emphasized by IPI, is only one of the factors that account for learning differences. (Some others include motivation, cultural environment, genetic endowment.) (3) Although IPI places the emphasis on student self-learning, effective learning seems to be a result of effective teaching. A good teacher can make almost any reading program work in the classroom, as long as he teaches diagnostically and as long as he believes in his material and knows it well. References are included. (AI)