In implementing a districtwide reading project emphasizing staff development for middle school level teachers, the Moore County, North Carolina district conducted a study to determine whether middle school children could exceed their prior reading growth rates over a three-year period. Students from grades four through eight were pretested in the fall of each year using upper levels of the Prescriptive Reading Inventory and its companion test, the ORBIT, the California Reading Test, and the Piers-Harris Self Concept Scale. The information these tests provided on student strengths, weaknesses, and attitudes became the basis for instructional planning. Among the conditions the study sought to promote were individualized instruction, student motivation, and teacher participation in program design. Teacher inservice training was provided by a specialist in diagnostic prescriptive development of reading. Students' reading rate was determined to be the average of the latest three year gains given in grade level equivalents, and the students' progress for each of the study years was compared to this rate. The results indicated remarkable success in almost every test objective for all three years. Direct training in diagnosis, program design, selection and construction of activities and materials, and administrative support were essential for building the teacher confidence and competence that precipitated students' success. (HTH)