This study reports the effects of an integrated instructional program (the Keystone Method) on the students' performance in mathematics and reading, and tracks students' persistence and retention. The subject of the study was a large group of students in remedial mathematics classes at the college, willing to learn but lacking basic educational skills. The results show not only improvements in student outcomes in mathematics, but also gains in reading comprehension scores, as compared with the control group. These results were achieved at no cost to classroom retention. The persistence rates of the Keystone students were also higher for the subsequent terms. (Contains 10 figures.)