Students at four grade levels (4,7,10, and 12) were tested using a criterion-referenced measure of reading literacy based on the Bormuth literacy model. Cloze test passages were selected to represent a cross section of ten content domains of readers material (e.g., textbooks, consumer safety, occupational, etc.). A multimatrix sampling design was used. Students scoring below the 35 percent correct criterion were judged illiterate with that material. In general, the study suggested far less reading literacy among students in one school system than was anticipated. This paper represents a brief abstract of the complexities of the ultimate design. (Author/BB)