The Alphabetic Braille and Contracted Braille Study found no difference between high and low achievers in the development of literacy skills on such measures as age, etiology of visual impairment, family attitudes and behaviors regarding literacy activities, class size, and time spent with a teacher of students with visual impairments. Some differences between the groups were seen on measures of social interactions, the introduction of contractions, and time spent with paraeducators, but the most demonstrated difference was the provision of consistent structured reading instruction. (Contains 7 tables.)