This paper, presented at a 1976 conference on the theory and practice of beginning reading instruction, introduces the theory that reading development occurs in stages patterned after Piaget's cognitive development stages. The stages include the prereading stage (until the age of six years); the decoding stage (first/second grade); the stage of confirmation, fluency, and "ungluing from print" (second/third grade); the reading-for-learning stage (intermediate and junior high school years); the multiple viewpoints period (senior high school); and the mature, "world view" stage (college/adult years). The interrelations of the stages are discussed, as are their possible conceptual applications to reading research, reading difficulty, and reading diagnosis. A transcript of audience and panel discussion on the paper and its implications is included (RL)