Striving adolescent readers often find themselves with little or no support once they enter high school. The success of independent reading programs that target students' reading levels and accommodate student interest at the elementary level is well-documented. As students progress throughout their school years, such freedom is traditionally replaced with a strict adherence to lists of canonical classics of literature, most of which are well above a struggling reader's independent reading level. This study explored the value of such an independent reading program that addresses both student interest as well as student reading ability at the secondary level and sought to determine its influence upon adolescent reading achievement. This study compared/contrasted the effectiveness of incorporating an independent reading program into the 8th grade English curriculum to that of a more traditional English curriculum. The study took place at three public schools within Central Virginia and a causal/comparison design was used. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]