The teaching of reading as a decoding process was an educational strategy used by the Minicourse 18 model of teacher education. This report analyzes the field data taken from four school test sites and assesses the effectiveness of the strategy. Multivariate Statistical analysis shows the program has a significant effect in course-approved directions of teaching behavior, but reveals little difference on teacher entry and gain scores for central city as opposed to suburban teachers. An independent study that ran concurrently with the Minicourse 18 field tests showed that student achievement favored the use of this strategy. (MC)