This report, the sixth in a series developed by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) examining the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act 2001, discusses Reading First, which replaces the Reading Excellence Act. The report states that Reading First, a voluntary program, aims at having all children achieve reading proficiency by the end of the third grade and is designed to help states, districts, and communities identify and adopt scientifically based reading programs, and ensure that all classroom teachers (kindergarten through third grade) can identify children at risk of reading failure and provide effective early instruction. It explains that Early Reading First, a related program, is designed to promote reading readiness in preschool-age children before primary school entry. The report is divided into the following sections: Background and Research on Literacy; Reading First; Definition of Scientifically Based Reading Research; Reading First--Implications for States; Policy Questions--Reading First; Early Reading First; and Early Reading First--Implications for the States. Contains links to Web sources. (NKA)