Focusing on the important role that reading diagnostic reports (RDRs) play in the diagnostic/prescriptive process, a study evaluated RDRs at 26 reading centers to gain insights into the commonalities of RDRs at American institutions and to identify new trends in communicating perceived strengths and weaknesses in reading to parents and educators. Findings indicated that most RDRs (1) required the following background information: personal data, clinician's name, educational history, reason for referral, student interests and attitudes, and a listing of tests administered; (2) included assessment data pertaining to such areas as comprehension, reading attitude/interest, and reading vocabulary; (3) provided some type of interpretation of the assessment; (4) provided suggestions to parents such as activities for encouraging reading at home; and (5) proposed a variety of intervention strategies for teachers. The most noticeable trend identified in RDRs was the movement toward simplicity: the tendency is for reports to be shorter, less complex, and written in language that most parents and educators can understand. Results also revealed a movement toward informal assessment procedures that concentrate more on process information than product and that include the assessment of affective dimensions. Results suggested that reading tests constitute useful tools for validating the progress and reliability of developmental and remedial holistic reading programs. (JD)