The paper, on reading intervention, reviews literature and research which discuss students at risk of reading failure and/or students with mild reading disabilities. It uses as background the recommendations of the California Reading Initiative Task Force regarding the instruction of reading in the schools and the expectation that schools will develop effective reading intervention programs to serve students beginning no later than the middle of first grade. The characteristics and success rates of reading intervention programs which are currently being implemented in elementary schools are explored. The paper also focuses on researching successful school reading programs and discovering the characteristics which make reading instruction effective for at-risk students in all grades. A 22-item bibliography is attached. (NKA)