Some claim that good and poor readers continue their trajectories despite intervention. This quasi-experimental study examined whether the READ 180 program helps general education, below-grade-level, Title I pre-adolescent readers improve. Participants included 82 students, grades 4-8, in public Title I elementary and middle schools. Results showed that below grade-level readers improved after intervention and attained grade-level status. Differences remained between participants and their nonintervention peers during follow-up testing. However, when examining growth trajectories, a reversal in performance between the two groups was manifested. The below-grade-level students' mean growth between years 1 and 2 after intervention was actually greater than that of their on-grade-level peers with no intervention. The performance trajectory narrowed over time after successful intervention.