The Direct Instruction Follow Through program of enhanced instruction for children in kindergarten through grade 3 was introduced in 1968 in schools serving disadvantaged students in 180 communities throughout the United States. To determine the long-term effects of the program, a study compared the performance of the first three cohorts of Follow Through children from P. S. 137, the Bainbridge School, in Brooklyn, New York, with that of a control group of non-Follow Through students from a school in the same area. Data were collected from school records for 82% of the Direct Instruction Follow Through students and 76% of the control group students. Specific information gathered included high school graduation date, ninth grade reading and math scores, and student's application to and acceptance by colleges. Data analysis revealed that (1) over half the Follow Through students finished high school as compared to just over a third of the control students, (2) Follow Through students dropped out significantly less than did control students in two of the three cohort groups, and (3) more Follow Through students applied for and were accepted by colleges. A comparison of the subjects' ninth grade performance indicated that Follow Through students did better than their control group counterparts in both reading and math. (FL)