A group of 562 sixth grade students and 559 twelfth grade students was surveyed to determine if there was a difference in reading attitudes between male and female students overall and between the sixth and twelfth grade levels for each sex. Although the majority of students disagreed with the statement that reading is for learning but not for enjoyment, significantly more girls strongly disagreed than boys. The difference was not significant at the sixth grade level, but was highly significant at the twelfth grade level. The majority of students disagreed with the statement that there is nothing to be gained from reading books. There was stronger disagreement for girls than for boys at the twelfth grade level, but not at the sixth. Thus, there is a trend toward thinking that something can be gained from reading books and this is more prevalent among girls than boys. Girls consistently had a more positive attitude toward using their spare time to read than boys, and the difference is greater at the twelfth grade level than at the sixth. Overall, the sex difference was greater at the twelfth grade level than at the sixth grade level, indicating that boys' attitudes become more negative and girls' become more positive. (HTH)