Eighty-eight first graders (53 boys and 35 girls) were observed to determine whether attentiveness (visual orienting behavior, or direction of gaze) was related to reading achievement prior to the effects of long-term success-failure school experiences and whether the expected superior reading achievement of girls was related to observed attentiveness in the classroom. An observer was assigned to each of the four classrooms to record the attentional behaviors of the pupils during the reading hour; 15 visits were made over the course of a month. Positive attentiveness included task relevant behaviors, whereas non-task orienting behavior was scored negatively. Results indicated that girls were significantly more attentive than boys and achieved higher word recognition scores. Word recognition was found to be significantly related to attentiveness for the group as a whole, with reading readiness controlled in a covariance analysis. It was concluded that overt, task relevant, orienting behavior was related to scholastic achievement and was acquired in beginning reading, before a long history of academic success-failure had been established. (Author/HS)