TWO LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS OF EARLY READING ON LATER ACHIEVEMENT ARE REPORTED. EARLY READERS ARE CHILDREN WHOSE READING WAS THE PRODUCT OF NONSCHOOLING, WHO IDENTIFIED 18 OUT OF 37 WORDS ON AN ORAL TEST, AND WHO COULD ACHIEVE A RAW SCORE ON THE GATES PRIMARY READING TESTS. THE 1958 STUDY TESTED 49 EARLY READERS OVER A 6-YEAR PERIOD AND COMPARED THEIR ACHIEVEMENT WITH THAT OF EQUALLY INTELLIGENT NONEARLY READERS. THE 1961 STUDY EXAMINED THE PROGRESS OF 156 EARLY READERS OVER A 3-YEAR PERIOD AND ALSO COMPARED THEIR ACHIEVEMENT WITH THAT OF NONEARLY READERS. THE TESTS USED PARALLELED THOSE USED IN THE FIRST STUDY. THE RESULTS FOR BOTH STUDIES INDICATED THAT BEGINNING FIRST GRADERS DIFFER GREATLY IN WHAT THEY CAN DO AND WHAT THEY WANT TO DO AND THAT THE AVERAGE ACHIEVEMENT OF EARLY READERS WITH 5 OR 6 YEARS OF SCHOOLING WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE ACHIEVEMENT OF NONEARLY READERS OF COMPARABLE INTELLIGENCE WHO HAD 6 YEARS OF SCHOOLING. THE NEED FOR MORE FLEXIBLE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS IS IMPLIED. THE TABULATED RESULTS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE "READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY," VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4, SUMMER 1966. (NS)