Noting that major publishers have begun to depict a more balanced portrayal of ethnic story characters and content in their basal reading series, a study was conducted to investigate the extent to which stories depicting the three largest ethnic groups in the United States were contained in nine of the major and current basal reading series (grades one through six). Blacks, Hispanics, and native Americans were examined in the study since they represent the largest minorities nationwide, while a fourth group labeled "multiethnic" enabled the coding of information about stories with major characters from more than one ethnic group. The study sought to determine the amount of ethnic content contained in the series, whether a particular series emphasized a greater number of stories about one ethnic group over others, and the ways that such information could benefit individuals interested in purchasing new basal series. The results indicated that no single basal series offered more ethnic content for a particular group than another, and that practically all nine series included a greater occurrence of stories about blacks and multiethnic groups than about native Americans and Hispanics. (HTH)