A program for secondary remedial reading instruction was developed to use operant conditioning techniques with the following major objectives: (1) to train the student to decode words systematically, (2) to develop the student's verbal repertoire, (3) to improve reading comprehension, and (4) to shape scholarly attitudes and behavior. Pupils were placed in one of two sections according to word attack proficiency and were given instruction for 5 hours per week in the reading lab. The laboratory instruction included verbal training sessions, guided comprehension practice, vocabulary emission taped sessions and written sessions, and recreational reading. The effects of this program on 50 freshmen and sophomore high school students were compared with a matched control group. Pretest and post-test scores on the Gates McGinitie Comprehension Test and the California Phonics Test showed that while both experimental and control groups made significant pre to post mean gains, the experimental group mean scores exceeded the mean scores of the control group on both tests. Tables and references are included. (CM)