Middle school students who score below proficient on state reading assessments are often placed in remedial reading programs that focus on phonics and decoding skills and do not acknowledge students' literate abilities. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the reading abilities of young adolescent readers. Five assessments measuring phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension were administered to 94 students who scored below proficient on a state reading assessment. Cluster analysis revealed four distinct groups of striving adolescent readers. The varying abilities and needs of these populations are presented through profiles of four students, and implications for tiered instructional interventions are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)