This analysis is part of an effort to develop a method of showing accountability for the educational responsibilities of the school system to the children of Atlanta, Ga. Forrest Elementary School serves a low-income community and receives ESEA Title I aid. Faculty planned to look at the effectiveness of its program in raising the reading levels of pupils in grades K-3, since it was noted that many of the students were reading below their assigned grade levels. With the initiation of the Peabody Rebus Reading Approach in the first grade, it was decided to study only the progress of the first grade pupils. The experimental approaches used were a basal reading approach using traditional orthography (BR-TO) and a basal reading approach using rebuses (BR-Rebus). The Metropolitan Readiness Tests, the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, and the Student Attitude Toward School Inventory were used as evaluative instruments. Findings indicated that the BR-Rebus method was not superior to the BR-TO method on both pretest and posttest; that first grade pupils had a positive attitude toward school; and, that attendance did not affect achievement. (Authors/RJ)