Magnet schools offer special courses of study in order to attract students of different racial backgrounds. The Magnet School Assistance Program was authorized by Congress to provide funds to school districts for planning and promoting magnet schools. Eligible school districts desiring such assistance submit annual applications to the Secretary of Education. These applications are reviewed, evaluated, and scored by a panel of experts. In 1987, as the program was being reviewed for reauthorization, a study was conducted to evaluate the grant award process. This document reports the results of that study. The inquiry centered around the following four questions: (1) What are the legislative, regulatory, and policy guidelines under which the grant award process operates? (2) What were the differences between the 1985 and 1987 grant award processes? (3) How were field readers selected to evaluate proposals? and (4) What were the 1987 field readers' views on the grant award process and suggestions for improvement? Responses to these questions are given and data are presented in seven tables and three figures. (VM)