The performances on selected measures of reading achievement and intelligence of 24 educationally disadvantaged adults and two groups of elementary children were investigated and compared. The first group of children was drawn from a low socioeconomic level, and the second, from a high socioeconomic level. There was a stronger correlation between the intelligence and reading scores of the children than between these two adult scores; although, the adults scored considerably lower on the IQ test, they did as well as one elementary group and better than the other on the reading test. Cloze tests and the Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE) appeared to measure the intellectual abilities associated with reading more effectively for adults than did the IPAT Culture-fair Test of Intelligence. The adults scored highest on the cloze test, and the high socioeconomic group scored higher than the children from the low socioeconomic group. Results indicated that the format and content of instruments to be used with adults are important factors. It was also indicated that educationally disadvantaged adults are able to utilize the limited reading skills they do possess to a greater extent than might be indicated with standardized tests. Tables and references are included. (BT)