This paper identifies various key aspects of the history and administration of federal compensatory education, describes the problems and issues associated with these, and suggests some ways in which research might help further program goals. It is intended as a discussion paper designed to highlight some crucial target areas for a major study of compensatory education to be conducted by the National Institute of Education, in accordance with a provision of the Education Amendments of 1974. The paper contains four chapters. The first chapter describes very briefly the background of the study, the original purposes of Title I, and the way in which its administration was conceived. It also identifies the main issues with which legislators and program administrators must be concerned. The following three chapters then deal with these issues in more detail under the headings of: Resource Distribution. Categorical Aid and School Organization, and Effects of Compensatory Programs on Children. Emphasis throughout is on federal programs, and specifically, on Part A of Title I. An attempt is made to distinguish between those areas which are researchable, and those which are not; that is, between questions of fact and value decisions, even though the latter may be informed by findings on cost, efficiency, and consequences. (Author/CS)