The obstacles associated with conducting curricular research in school settings are discussed. A study of bilingual students in the Phoenix area demonstrated the difficulties associated with high absenteeism and drop out rates. In a study of Spanish reading materials, it proved difficult to identify schools where administrators would be willing to allow a study in which Hispanic students would be encouraged to read books, magazines, and related materials in Spanish during their free reading time. A serious problem in high school studies was the policy of having students whose English reading skills had improved substantially transfer into the regular curriculum before there was an opportunity to posttest them. Researchers contemplating school based curricular studies need to be aware of the increased logistic and personnel difficulties associated with bilingual education. These include greater difficulty in securing district approval, philosophical opposition by many school administrators and teachers, more difficulty in getting teachers to implement bilingual instruction with integrity, greater opposition from parents, greater difficulty in securing the cooperation and interest of U.S.-born Hispanics, and the unavailability of good curricular materials in Spanish. (RW)