To determine the effects, if any, that one-parent families have on reading achievement, a study compared the 1983 California Achievement Reading Test scores of children in grades two through four who were from one-parent families, with scores of those from two-parent families. Twelve children were used in each group. Total reading scores were converted into scores that showed the difference between chronological age and (test score) grade equivalent. Results indicated that the mean score of the one-parent family students was higher than that of the children in two-parent family situations. (Appended is a literature review of related research on the effects of disrupted families on children's behavior and achievement.) (HOD)