A plan to meet the needs of multi-ethnic, disadvantaged students in the Hempstead, Long Island, Public Schools, using funds provided under Title I of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act, was put into operation three years ago. Called the Directed Learning Program (DLP) it comprises at present 2342 students who are from five to 12 years of age. DLP uses the concept of non-graded, multi-aged units (within a range of one to three years) of children grouped together in 26 "Learning Families." In most cases, there are four units to a family. Each family is guided by a learning director and has an average of four educational aides working with all the classrooms in the family as needed. Each home-based unit has its own teacher. The aim of the Directed Learning Program is to individualize education by tailoring it to the needs of each child. It was assessed in regard to whether DLP students made significant gains in reading and math during the school year; the quality of the DLP reading curriculum and mathematics curriculum; and the attitudes of the community toward DLP. In order to find out how the DLP students performed in reading and math, the Metropolitan Achievement tests were used. These were administered before and after the school year. Also, questionnaires were given to a random 25 percent sample of students to measure self-concept and attitudes toward school. (Author/JM)