Project ALMS (Adult Literacy Mission Support) was designed to improve the communication skills of semi-literate or illiterate adults, help participants become more self-sufficient, provide an ongoing program for other such individuals, and provide a manual of guidelines and suggestions for other programs. Three groups were established to make a comparison among 25 students who were gainfully employed in a local electric plant as machinist trainees, 128 Chinese students living in China and learning to read English as a second language, and 26 generally unemployed students participating in an individualized adult basic reading program. All three groups consisted of adults aged 17 to 40. Programs of study varied with the group as well as the individual according to specific, diverse reading goals. Growth in reading was ascertained through pre- and posttesting utilizing the Woodcock Mastery Skills Tests. Data revealed that the individualized approach was superior and that the Woodcock Test can be used appropriately for adults having less than tenth grade reading level but not for adults who are reading above that level. Test goals also confirmed that the program goals were met. (The manual developed during the project is also included.) (MN)