THIS PAPER ON THE JOPLIN PLAN INCLUDES AN OUTLINE OF HISTORICAL MOVEMENTS LEADING TO THE JOPLIN PLAN AS IT IS KNOWN TODAY, A DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN AS IT IS USED IN JOPLIN, A SURVEY OF VARIOUS STUDIES WHICH HAVE EMPLOYED THE PLAN, AND A DISCUSSION OF ITS ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS. TYPICALLY, THE JOPLIN PLAN GROUPS MIDDLE-GRADE CHILDREN FOR READING INSTRUCTION ON THE BASIS OF SCORES MADE ON READING ACHIEVEMENT TESTS AND TEACHER OBSERVATIONS, REGARDLESS OF GRADE PLACEMENT. THE GROUPS ARE NOT CONSIDERED HOMOGENEOUS, HOWEVER, AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES MUST STILL BE RECOGNIZED. SOME ADVANTAGES ARE THAT PUPILS ARE PLACED AT READING LEVELS WHERE SUCCESS IS POSSIBLE, THAT READING INSTRUCTION ACQUIRES NEW IMPORTANCE, THAT TEACHERS APPARENTLY ARE STIMULATED TO BETTER PERFORMANCE, THAT READING ACHIEVEMENT AS MEASURED BY STANDARDIZED TESTS MAY BE INCREASED, AND THAT PARENTS APPROVE WHEN THE PLAN IS CAREFULLY EXPLAINED. SOME LIMITATIONS ARE THAT SOCIAL PRESSURE MAY RESULT WHEN FOURTH- AND SIXTH-GRADE PUPILS ARE IN THE SAME READING CLASS, THAT POOR ACADEMIC INTEGRATION MAY RESULT IF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE READING TEACHER AND THE HOMEROOM TEACHER IS INSUFFICIENT, AND THAT THE PLAN MAY BE INEFFECTIVE IF NO PROVISION IS MADE FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE READING GROUP. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED AT THE INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE (SEATTLE, MAY 4-6, 1967). (RH)