This study investigated the effectiveness of student-centered(shengben) education in Hong Kong second graders´ reading instruction. We compared Chinese test papers scores between second graders´ shengben classes(n = 425; 218 boys and 207 girls) and traditional non-shengben classes(n = 250; 140 boys and 110 girls). The mean age for shengben classes was 7.3 years, and the mean age for non-shengben classes was 7.5 years. Basic and higher-order reading abilities were measured with two sets of reading comprehension tests. Results indicated that student-centered shengben reading instruction is effective in enhancing both basic and higher-order reading abilities.