For Mexican American students, grade-level reading and overall academic achievement decline, as measured by standardized tests, as they progress through the educational system. By grade seven, 65% of Mexican American students fail one or more grade levels below expected achievement. To reverse this trend of academic failure, teachers need to use instructional strategies that are effective with Hispanic students. Junior high teachers will want to provide clear and concise sequential steps in assignments, devise a variety of activities using English language and reading skills, strive for effective English instruction, alert students to reading skills they possess, recognize students' varying language and reading skill levels, and provide individual instruction as needed. High school teachers should become more proficient in teaching reading skills, provide students with appropriate labels for reading skills, and encourage students to apply collateral cognitive processes to all reading assignments. Fifteen references dealing with reading instruction and minority students are appended. (JHZ)