A study evaluated the effectiveness of the Success in Beginning Reading and Writing (SBRW) program which is based on the philosophy that children should be taught to read and write using materials they will rely on later in life. Subjects, 59 students involved in the SBRW program, were given the California Achievement Tests as pre- and posttests. Pretests indicated that the pilot students scored below national norms in all subtest areas. Posttest results indicated that pupils in the SBRW program fell behind the growth rate of students taking the CAT in all four subtest areas (reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, reading total, and language expression). Scores on the reading vocabulary and reading total posttests actually declined for students in the SBRW program. (RS)