A study determined whether computer assisted instruction (CAI) had an effect on students' reading achievement. Subjects were 21 randomly selected fourth-grade students at D. S. Wentworth Elementary School on the south side of Chicago in a low-income neighborhood who received a year's exposure to a CAI program, and 21 randomly selected students at the same school who did not receive CAI in reading. Subjects' scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were compared. Results indicated no statistically significant increase or decrease in reading achievement for either group. Findings agree with earlier studies which indicated that CAI is effective in some instances and neutral in others. (Contains 18 references and one table of data.) (RS)