A program of new approaches to teaching composition, funded under an ESEA Title 3 grant, led English teachers at Woodridge High School, Peninsula, Ohio, to test two theories: (1) that no significant difference in writing skills would exist between students exposed to the traditional, formal grammar course and those taught composition through the examination and imitation of writing models, and (2) that students would increase their ability in other English-related areas by using the time previously spent on formal grammar. The principal test instruments--student questionnaires and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development--were administered to over 400 students in grades 9-12. Results from the evaluation conditionally verified the two original hypotheses and indicated that the new composition course based on a rhetorical approach was more effective than the previous grammatical approach. (LH)