Calling attention to the continuum of approaches reflected in beginning reading programs, this report presents content and cost analyses for over 50 beginning reading programs. The first of the report's five chapters is an introduction. The second chapter begins with a brief description of the major issues in the area of beginning reading and concludes with a summary of important research-based recommendations for instruction. The third chapter outlines the evaluation criteria for a content analysis of the programs and provides operational definitions of evaluation criteria. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the extent to which over 50 instructional programs and approaches reflect research in beginning reading. The fourth chapter presents a cost analysis of each program evaluated and a description of how the cost analysis was determined. The final chapter contains some conclusions and cautions about selecting and designing effective reading instructional programs. (RS)