A study examined retelling as a reading comprehension-enhancing technique. Subjects were 26 urban, lower socio-economic fourth graders from New Jersey (Essex County), including 10 girls and 16 boys. A control sample answered questions as a follow-up to reading basal stories; an experimental sample retold the stories as a follow-up. Comparable forms of the basal unit test were administered to both samples as pretests and posttests. In a comparison between the retelling and the skills sample for the pretest, with a mean difference of .16 and a t of .03, results indicated the two samples were virtually identical in reading comprehension at the outset. In the analysis of the posttest scores for the two samples, findings revealed a mean difference of 6.0 and a t of .74, thus no significant difference was found. However, the children in the control sample had a minimum of 4 years of teacher-directed classroom practice employing the question and answer approach, while the experimental sample had no instruction in the practice of retelling. Further research is suggested in the area of retelling, both as an assessment tool and as an instructional tool. (Contains 13 references; related literature and a list of reading selections from the basal series are appended.) (CR)