A technique is presented for taking a covariable into account when the treatment and response variables are qualitative (i.e., where the familiar technique for the 2×2 contingency table would be used if no adjustment was made for the covariable). The technique is illustrated and exemplified by a clinical trial of chemotherapies for hyaline membrane disease in babies. The scientific rationale for an “exact” statistical test and a simple approximate test (COVAST) is provided. In terms of the mechanics, COVAST is an easy extension of the familiar Sign Test.