FIRST-OFFENDER FELONS ATTENDING SCHOOL AT TUCKER PRISON CUSTOMARILY USE TEXTBOOKS WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. INMATES AGED 16 TO 23 YEARS WHO TESTED AT GRADE LEVEL 7-9 PARTICIPATED IN AN EXPERIMENT IN WHICH A CURRICULUM SUPPLEMENT WRITTEN FOR THEM WAS COMPARED WITH A SUPPLEMENT WRITTEN FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE EXPERIMENTAL CURRICULUM WAS DIRECTED TO THE INMATES' AGE LEVEL AND WAS WRITTEN IN THEIR FRAME OF REFERENCE. IN TWO SEPARATE EXPERIMENTS, 72 SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE CALIFORNIA ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY BEFORE AND AFTER A 4-WEEK PERIOD OF STUDY DURING WHICH THEY USED SUPPLEMENTS. EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS USED THE SUPPLEMENT WRITTEN FOR INMATES; CONTROLS, THE SUPPLEMENT WRITTEN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE TWO EXPERIMENTS DIFFERED IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT IN INSTRUCTOR-LED DISCUSSION. THE INMATE-ORIENTED SUPPLEMENT RESULTED IN GREATER IMPROVEMENTS IN VOCABULARY AND READING COMPREHENSION THAN DID THE OTHER SUPPLEMENT. TEACHER-LED INSTRUCTION IN EXCESS OF 1 HOUR PER WEEK APPARENTLY CONTRIBUTED LITTLE TO THE IMPROVEMENT, MOST OF WHICH CAME ABOUT THROUGH INDEPENDENT STUDY IN INFORMAL SETTINGS. DETAILS OF THE EXPERIMENT, COPIES OF THE CURRICULUM SUPPLEMENTS, SUPPORTING DATA AND DOCUMENTATION, A LITERATURE REVIEW, AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)