A cloze test was administered to 210 seventh grade students of low socioeconomic status to determine whether dialect and second language interfered with adolescents' use of print language during the process of silent reading. The population was comprised of black, Chicano, and white students. Based on the exact cloze scores, 24 triples were matched from the three ethnic groups. Four different scoring procedures were devised for deriving appropriateness of nonexact answers on the cloze tests on the bases of semantics and syntax. An independent judge administered the four scoring procedures. The three groups were compared by a series of ANOVAs on semantic errors, syntax errors, and substitutes derived by the four procedures. It was found that dialect and second language did not interfere in the adolescent's silent reading process when reading ability and socioeconomic status were controlled. (Author/RL)