To assess the impact of economic deprivation on students' reading scores in standardized tests, the vocabulary and reading comprehension portions of the California Achievement Test and the Degree of Reading Power test were admininstered to two groups of eighth grade students--60 students participating in the federal free lunch program and 60 students not participating. A test of mean differences between the two groups suggested that students receiving free lunches scored significantly lower on standardized reading tests than did students not using the lunch program and therefore assumed to be above the poverty guidelines. Comparisons of schools' test scores do not consider school differences in the percentages of children with moderate to severe economic deprivation. These results indicate, however, the need for sensitivity in comparing standardized reading scores among school programs. (MM)