THIS STUDY COMPARED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A STANDARD BASAL READING PROGRAM WITH AN INDIVIDUALIZED READING PROGRAM WHICH INCORPORATED (1) A PROGRAM OF PHONETIC SKILLS, (2) WORD RECOGNITION, (3) COMPREHENSION SKILLS, AND (4) A PROGRAM OF STORY READING. TWELVE COMBINATION FIRST- AND SECOND-GRADE INDIVIDUALIZED READING CLASSES WERE PAIRED WITH 12 BASAL READING CLASSES IN RURAL AREAS AND PRE- AND POST-TESTED. THE FINAL TEST COMPARISONS WERE BASED ON (1) WORD RECOGNITION, (2) PHONETIC ABILITY, (3) COMPREHENSION RATE, AND (4) SPELLING. THE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR THE POST MEASURES SHOWED THE INDIVIDUALIZED METHOD SIGNIFICANTLY EXCEEDED THE BASAL METHOD ON ALL SUBTESTS EXCEPT RATE OF READING. THE FAVORABLE RESULTS INDICATED THE DESIRABILITY OF AN INDIVIDUALIZED READING PROGRAM AT THE FIRST-GRADE LEVEL. (PM)