The act of reading is holistic and involves acquisition of facts, concepts, and generalizations. With Instructional Management Systems (IMS) and state mandated testing, however, reading too frequently becomes a means of appraising the achievement of students in acquiring word recognition skills as well as diverse comprehension abilities. School systems and teachers of reading should emphasize the tenets of individualized reading. Individualized reading advocates believe that: (1) the act of reading is holistic and not fragmented; (2) students should select reading materials within a flexible framework; and (3) the student should be heavily involved in appraising his/her reading performance. Holistic means of assisting students in reading stressed within the framework of individualized reading philosophies may also be emphasized with the utilization of basal readers. Emphasis should not be on students learning isolated phonics sounds. A better emphasis would be for each student to learn phonics generalizations while reading content. Students should be active participants in learning. To achieve higher levels of cognition, students need to bring meaning to subject matter. Reading skills must be secured and utilized within the framework of quality holistic reading experiences. (RS)