In recent years there has been an increased interest in developing the basic reading and writing skills of primary students at risk for academic failure. Problems associated with typical evaluations of programmatic impact on students' literacy skills include the amount of testing time, sensitivity to smaller levels of growth, or, as in the case of the ISTEP+, the Indiana state-wide accountability program, the short time interval between the program intervention and the subsequent ISTEP+ testing. This report describes the use of the Basic Academic Skills Sample (BASS) in the evaluation of two literacy intervention programs. A total of 618 students in 2 Indiana elementary schools participated in this first year of a pilot study. Results suggest that the BASS provides useful information about progress associated with early literacy interventions both for students as a whole and in comparing trends for students of differing ability levels. (Contains 7 tables and 21 figures of data.) (Author/RS)