A longitudinal study was initiated in the Tuscon Unified School District (TUSD) to follow the achievement of seventh and ninth grade Title I students: (1) to investigate the suitability and difficulty of the Total Reading Test of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT) and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS); (2) to compare the gains in a fall-to-spring out-of-level testing program; (3) to determine if there was a decline in reading achievement over the summer; and (4) to study the fall-to-fall reading achievement patterns of low- and high-achieving groups in a compensatory education program. Results of the study indicated: the CTBS was suitable for both groups; the MAT was suitable for the ninth grade group but unsuitable for the seventh grade group; the seventh grade group made greater gains in fall-to-fall testing and the ninth graders made greater gains in fall-to-spring testing; the ninth graders but not the seventh graders showed a decline in reading achievement over the summer; and homogeneous regression lines of low- and high-achieving groups were retained. (MH)