Reports findings of a study that analyzed approximately 2,000 selections from basal readers to determine the nature of their content. Concludes that only 57.7% of the selections had subject matter content, none had functional ("knowing how") content, and none had ethos ("knowing to") content. (FL)

Reports that first grade children in Zaire who used a carefully controlled native language primer (developed to meet a need for up-to-date, relevant primers in Zairean languages) achieved higher reading scores than children who used an old (1952) primer. (GT)