A study evaluated the Title 1 Reading Program that served 3,944 underachieving pupils in grades 1 through 8 in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The program provided service to 62 public elementary schools, 22 public middle schools, and 10 nonpublic schools. Program teachers provided small group instruction to strengthen reading skills in grades 1-8. A major part of the evaluation effort was accomplished through the administration of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests. Results indicated that: (1) of the treatment group of 2,782 pupils, 2,452 (88.1%) displayed over time each of 3 strategic processing behaviors (constructing meaning, monitoring reading, and integrating sources of information; (2) 2,329 (83.7%) of 2,782 pupils in a treatment group read the requisite number of books for their grade; (3) reading comprehension scores for grades 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 gained an average of 0.1 NCE for the 1,029 pupils in the evaluation sample; and (4) 7,591 parent contacts were made across activities. Findings support continuation of the program with consideration given to five areas of concern. (Contains 14 figures of data.) (RS)