The reading program, Words in Color, was used as a 1-year program at the first-grade level in an elementary school in Gainesville, Florida. The reading program in each of four control classes was identifiably unique and varied. Predata were collected using the Metropolitan Readiness Test, Form A, in September, 1969 and the Otis Quick Scoring Mental Ability Test, Short Form A, in January, 1970. Achievement data, as measured by the vocabulary and comprehension sections of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Primary A, Form 2, were collected in May, 1970. The analysis of covariance was employed to analyze the data for the students using the Words in Color program and the four control classrooms. In all four of the analyses, the students in the Words in Color reading program, receiving it as a 1-year program only at the first-grade level, had significantly lower (p<.05) mean scores in vocabulary and comprehension, as measured by the Gates-MacGinitie, than did three of the control classes. Tables are included. (AW/Author)