Resulting from a project involving district, state, and federal educational agencies, the papers in this, the first of two volumes, are intended to provide information from research and practice that can help school districts in their efforts to make decisions about goals and methods of basic skills instruction. The topics of the papers in the volume were chosen in response to three major concerns: Should basic skills be thought of as minimal competencies? Should they be taught in isolation from each other and from the rest of the curriculum or integrated in some way? and, What can be done to help assure that an emphasis on basic skills instruction will lead to improvements in educational practice and student outcomes? Specific topics covered in the 18 papers include (1) classroom management, (2) integrating the basic skills through the content areas, (3) putting the basic skills in context, (4) state leadership in basic skills, (5) learning in real-life contexts, (6) the nature of "basics," (7) basic skills for the world of work, (8) skills for the future, (9) planning and management of instruction, (10) making choices in basic skills instruction, (11) characteristics of successful basic skills programs, and (12) skill definition in state competency testing programs. (FL)