Evaluation studies conducted in 1978 at three sites yielded encouraging results regarding the ability of the Basic Skills Learning System (BSLS) to achieve the goals of adult basic education and demonstrated that effective curriculum models utilizing well-designed instructional paradigms can offer high quality instruction in the basic skills when delivered through computer-based delivery systems. The instructional rationale for establishing and developing teaching strategies for the reading component of BSLS comes from recognizing four conditions that enhance verbal learning: meaningfulness, reinforcement, instructions to learn, and practice. These conditions are met in BSLS by organizing the materials into configurations of strands, clusters, drill and practice, review help sequences, off-line activities, and mastery tests. The field tests monitored adult learners' progress through lessons sequentially arranged in five strands (structural analysis, vocabulary development, literal comprehension, interpretive comprehension, and evaluative comprehension). The data revealed that the average learning time necessary to generate a gain of one full grade level is 18.34 hours of computer-based reading instruction, equivalent to approximately 120 hours of regular school time. (RL)