The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of independent reading on reading ability. The study, conducted in an East Tennessee middle school, consisted of 21 randomly selected students who read a book of their choice at least 20 minutes every day at school and 22 students that did not. The study lasted for 12 weeks. The students were administered the Standardized Test for Assessment of Reading at the end of the 12 weeks. The scores for grade equivalent and zone of proximal development were analyzed using a t-test for independent means. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in scores. However, there was a significant difference in the scores of the females compared to the males in the group that was reading independently. Contains 21 references and a table of data. (Author/RS)