This study investigated the effects of a cross-age tutorial experience on the self-esteem of the tutors and the reading achievement of the pupils. Ninety-two fifth-grade males selected from four parochial schools in Nassau County, New York, were tested on a self-esteem inventory. Those scoring lowest were randomly assigned to tutoring groups and nontutoring groups. Eighty-five second-grade males from the same schools, ranked by their teachers as low in reading achievement, were randomly assigned to these groups. Tutoring of the second graders by fifth graders was conducted in half-hour sessions, four times a week, for a period of ten weeks. Posttesting revealed that, contrary to expectations, there was no support for the hypothesis that the tutorial experience would have a positive effect on the self-esteem of the fifth graders and on the reading achievement of the second graders. Length of time of the tutoring experience, lack of adequate structure and support for the participants, sex of the tutoring dyads, and specific methodological procedures may have accounted for the lack of significant results. Recommendations for further investigations were suggested. (Author/KS)