A study was conducted to find out how compressed speech affected achievement, how students like to use compressed speech, and whether it is practical for schools to use compressed speech as a teaching tool. College students in a self-instructional portion of a required course were assigned to one of four groups: normal speech (120 words per minute), 30 percent compression (174 wpm), 40% compression (200 wpm), and a choice of 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, or 55% compression. No significant difference in achievement was detected between the four groups (p equals .25). No significant difference in achievement between students with high grade point averages and those with low ones was detected for any compression rate (p equals .05). Students who used 30% compression saved 17% of time, and those using 40% saved 31% of time. From 90 to 100% of those who used compressed speech liked it, said they wanted to take courses that used it, and would use it to review material. Almost all (97%) said that learner control over the rate of speech was necessary or desirable. As a result of these findings, it is recommended that schools and colleges used compressed speech in their academic program. (Author/JK)