Little solid evidence is available to gauge whether the federal government's multibillion-dollar Reading First initiative is having an effect on student achievement, but many states are reporting anecdotally that they are seeing benefits for their schools. Among those benefits are extensive professional development in practices deemed to be research-based, extra instructional resources, and ongoing support services. Hard data on the program's effectiveness are still a year or more away, but many state officials say they have received widespread reports from schools and districts of improved morale, more effective instruction, and, in a few cases, higher test scores. However, it was not smooth sailing for several Michigan schools. Six schools--three in Detroit, two in Muskegon, and one in Saginaw--were dropped after failing to make the progress outlined in the grant requirements. Throughout the country, a small number of other schools have been cut from the program primarily because of changes in leadership or because of consolidation. A handful of other schools, however, lost their grants from the voluntary program after failing to show sufficient progress on standardized tests. Participating schools, many of them enrolling predominantly disadvantaged children, agreed to follow detailed plans for improving reading instruction and must show progress in student performance within two years. Other schools bowed out of Reading First after administrators determined it was not meeting expectations.