Through the leadership of the Mississippi Board of Education, the Mississippi Department of Education conducted two separate studies of the reading programs offered in the state. The first study examined statewide trends in reading achievement and compared selected school districts' data with data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Data were then compiled into profiles in which school district achievement scores were grouped into 3 categories: high, mid-range, and low. Although differences in practices between high and low achieving districts were noted, conclusions were not offered as to the degree to which any single factor may have impacted reading achievement. The second study identified characteristics of the reading programs in 107 Mississippi schools and correlated those characteristics to factors which might impact achievement. Each of the schools in the second study participated in Chapter 1 with an average poverty level of greater than 90% according to data from the National School Lunch Program. Reading achievement scores were correlated to variables such as staff development activities, reading readiness programs, early intervention efforts, and summer school programs. (Contains 25 unnumbered charts and 5 figures of data. Appendixes provide 2 survey instruments.) (RS)