This book is a final report of the Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature, which was established in 1987 with 3 years of funding to conduct research that would lead to improvements in the learning and teaching of literature, particularly in the middle grades. The report focuses on critical findings in each of the Center's major research strands. It begins with an introduction to continuing issues in the teaching of literature and then presents bodies of work to help better understand the status of instruction in American schools. The report then points to productive pathways to reform literature education to make it a more thoughtful and critically reasoned experience for all students and their teachers. Following an executive summary, the report is in eight chapters: (1) Introduction: Overview of Findings and Continuing Issues in the Learning and Teaching of Literature (Judith A. Langer and Arthur N. Applebee); (2) Literature Instruction in American Schools (Arthur N. Applebee); (3) The Selections Students Read for Literature Class (Arthur N. Applebee); (4) Elementary School Literature Instruction (Sean Walmsley); (5) Assessing Learning in Literature (Alan C. Purves); (6) Rethinking Literature Instruction (Judith A. Langer); (7) Teacher Research (C.H. Knoblauch and Lil Brannon); and (8) Institutional Activities (Genevieve Bronk). Three appendixes contain lists of advisory board members, the Center staff from 1987-1990, and Center publications. (SR)