A study described and evaluated the Literacy Collaborative, a collaborative effort between individual schools and school districts and the Ohio State University. The overall goal of the Literacy Collaborative is to significantly raise the level of literacy achievement of kindergarten, first, and second grade students by implementing instructional approaches and safety nets for students needing additional support. Four measures were used to evaluate the program. Twelve schools met selection criteria: has been a Literacy Collaborative school at least 4 years; the Literacy Collaborative training model has been followed and implemented; and the literacy coordinator has been at the school since the beginning of his/her training. Trends in increased achievement on a standardized test of reading were noted for 7 of the 12 schools, through the Fall of 1998. Recommendations include: (1) full implementation of the Literacy Collaborative training model appears to be necessary to achieve good results; (2) teachers need to be sure that children are engaged in reading and writing instruction for sufficient amounts of time each day; (3) efforts with schools to improve home-school communication should be continued; and (4) literacy coordinators need administrative support to produce the desired change. (Contains 48 references, and 20 figures and 4 tables of data.) (EF)