Claims of Success By 'Hooked on Phonics' Called Into Question

By Debra Viadero

By now, millions of Americans have encountered the radio or television commercials for "Hooked on Phonics." By purchasing the $179.95 kit, the advertisements proclaim, children can become "super readers," and illiterate adults, in the privacy of their own homes, can finally learn how to read.

The intensive advertising campaign has proved successful for the product's manufacturer, Gateway Products Ltd. of Orange, Calif.

According to the company's marketing brochures, more than half a million Hooked on Phonics kits have been sold since the product was first introduced five years ago. Even amid the current recession--and despite a concerted effort by the manufacturer in recent months to tone down its advertising campaign--the product...