DISTAR (Direct Instruction Systems for Teaching Arithmetic and Reading) is a structured program designed to present basic skills and concepts in such a way that the child's complete mastery of each step in the programed sequence is ensured before proceeding to subsequent steps. This study investigated the effects of the program using 52 children (approximately 95 percent were black and about equal numbers were boys and girls) in DISTAR (D) and Non-DISTAR (ND) groups, with 26 each in first and second grades. The Auditory Association and Verbal Expression subtests of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Ability were administered individually, while the Stanford Early School Achievement Test (for first grade) and the Metropolitan Achievement Test (for second grade) were administered in groups. Findings showed that the average reading scores of D children exceeded those of ND children in both first and second grades and that the average verbal expression scores of first-grade ND children were higher than those of children in D classes. (JM)