For 4 months, 221 kindergarten children took part in a controlled experiment on the effects of teaching formal reading at the kindergarten level. Teachers involved in the study were judged comparable in efficiency and attitudes towards the children. The California Test of Mental Maturity Pre-primary Kindergarten 1 was administered to half of the children and the Lee Clark Reading Readiness Test was given to the other half. High IQ, low IQ, high readiness, and low readiness groups emerged. Children were randomly assigned to formal reading or readiness programs. At the end of the school year the children were given the California Reading Test and the School Attitude Inventory. The teachers filled out rating scales on each child's attitude towards school. Results of analysis of variance of the data imply that the two types of instruction operated uniformly on all four categories of subjects. Children in the formal reading program surpassed children in the readiness instruction program in reading skills. According to teachers' ratings, attitudes towards school and reading were a function of intelligence and reading readiness. However, on the pupil self-reporting scale, children in the readiness group had more favorable attitudes towards school. (MS)