A reading program implemented in the Birmingham, Alabama, public schools in 1974 has produced increases in reading achievement in each of the years it has been used. Prior to 1974, the average Birmingham student's standardized reading test scores ranged from two months below the national average at the end of first grade to one year and nine months below the national average at the end of seventh grade; in 1979, the average achievement for each grade level was a full half year above the 1973-74 levels. The reading program that was developed involved the following components: (1) a widely publicized commitment to reading by the school system; (2) inservice teacher training; (3) reliance on a system based on the concept of mastery learning; (4) use of an eclectic instructional approach providing for variations in instructional materials and time tables according to individual children's needs; and (5) development of a continuum of reading skills, accompanied by pretests and posttests for each skill and by record keeping forms, to help teachers keep track of what each student has mastered. Evaluations of the program have indicated its successes and have pointed to areas in which improvement is needed. (GT)