Drawing on communications, psychological, and educational studies, this paper examines television's influence on reading performance and school achievement. The first section of the paper reviews and synthesizes major studies dealing with the introduction of television in a community and with correlations between television use and school achievement, pointing out that many of the studies have flawed methodologies and weak links between theory and methodology. The second section of the paper synthesizes the results of eight statewide reading assessments and a secondary analysis of the 1984 National Assessment of Educational Progress using hypotheses based on four theories of displacement (the idea that watching television replaces other activities in children's lives). It concludes that television viewing is associated with a different set of needs and gratifications than reading. The report includes extensive tables of data and eight pages of references. (FL)