A study was conducted to determine the relative effectiveness of the traditional and infused (computer-assisted instruction or CAI) approach to basic skills instruction for students in a vocational education program. The sample for the study consisted of 41 male students in the air conditioning/refrigeration program at the Houston Community College System Central Campus. Students, who were mixed racially and ethnically, were given the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) Level II to test their basic skills and the written form of the Student Occupational Competency Achievement Testing Program. An experimental group of 28 students received--in addition to the traditional instruction--approximately four hours per week of basic skills training using PLATO; the control group of 13 received only traditional instruction in which basic skills training was incorporated. The groups were posttested with the WRAT. Results showed that the experimental group receiving the CAI approach did not differ in the WRAT performance test scores from the scores of the control group. Some of the variables that may have affected the outcome were ongoing program development, differences in instruction, and student characteristics. It was concluded that while the results did not support a CAI approach to basic skills training for the vocational students in the sample, the study did illustrate the need to find appropriate ways of infusing basic skills training into the vocational education curriculum. Recommendations were made to evaluate the research design and make changes in the design of future studies, and to find other ways of using CAI to help vocational students to use basic skills. (KC)