First-year evaluation of the Word Attack Component of the Wisconsin Design for Reading was conducted in 23 elementary schools representing disadvantaged inner-city and advantaged schools in Wisconsin and Colorado. Primary-grade pupils in each of the schools experienced the program for 6 months, during which instruction was followed by criterion-referenced tests to indicate individual pupil mastery of skills. Subjects in all schools who had not experienced the program were tested in May, 1970, using the Wisconsin Tests of Reading Skill Development--Word Attack and three standardized reading tests. Subjects who had experienced the program were given the same tests in May, 1971. Simple t-tests and complex variations of t-tests were used to analyze the data. Subjects who had participated in the program achieved significantly higher scores on the standardized tests of reading, vocabulary, and comprehension, and on tests associated with the specific program objectives. The results of the first-year field testing and evaluation of the Word Attack Component were judged to be encouraging. References are included. (MS)