The No Child Let Behind Act of 2001 created the Reading First program to help ensure that all students could read at or above grade level by the end of grade 3. The program promotes practices recommended by the National Reading Panel for early reading instruction, highlighting five essential components of reading instruction. The program invested about $1 billion a year in classroom reading instruction over FY 2002-07 and $393 million in FY 2008. As required by the legislation, the Reading First impact study examined instruction and student reading outcomes in 248 schools (about half Reading First and half not) in 17 districts and 1 statewide program to address three main questions: (1) What is the impact of Reading First on student reading achievement?; (2) What is the impact of Reading First on classroom instruction?; and (3) What is the relationship between the degree of implementation of scientifically based reading instruction and student reading achievement? Findings reveal that Reading First did not improve student reading comprehension in grades 1, 2, or 3. But it did improve first grader's skills in decoding unfamiliar words. And it produced changes in several instructional practices, such as the amount of time spent on five essential components of reading instruction and the amount of professional development in reading instruction. (Contains 3 figures and 1 note.) [For the full report, "Reading First Impact Study. Final Report. NCEE 2009-4038," see ED503344.]