This report describes several prominent reading comprehension programs for use in grades three through eight and discusses some research studies on these programs effectiveness in terms of student achievement. Three basal reading series are compared and descriptions are given of the DISTAR reading and language programs, objective-based reading programs, the language experience approach, and a psycholinguistic view of reading. The report describes each program according to five features of comprehension instruction: the text involved, skill emphasis, instructional procedures, skills taught, and requirements for skill mastery. Clear differences in emphasis appear among the reading programs, as reflected in the number of exercises and questions devoted to various skills. Although the teaching procedures--primarily questioning--are similar, only DISTAR stresses the mastery of comprehension skills and specified error correction procedures. (MAI)