The nature of the shared responsibility for education is examined in this paper in which federal funds for education are viewed as an aid to the states and local communities. A brief review of the history of federal aid to education is given to place the topic in perspective. The central question examined is, Whose objectives are to be satisfied by such aids, and by what means? In this paper, a research method was designed to integrate case study and comparative analysis methods. The single case is the state of Wisconsin. Observations gleaned from documents, records, and interviews in Wisconsin are described, and comparisons are made with the results of similar studies in other states. Likewise, policy statements by national and regional agencies are cited and analyzed. Finally, the hypotheses that were generated in this process appear as "alternative futures." (Author/MLF)