This paper describes the need of educators for small-area data on low-income populations, how it has been met in the past ten years, and some of the steps that have been taken to improve the effectiveness of the data for federal purposes. The first section concentrates on how concern for the low-income pupil is translated into a quantitative formula that permits implementation at the local level. The second section discusses the reasons for the failure of the formula in the original act of 1965, particularly its failure to maintain currency. The next section examines the process of reform and the results that emerged from joint consideration of policy needs and data requirements. Finally, the fourth section explores educational requirements for low-income data in addition to those derived from the program for the disadvantaged that constitutes the primary topic of this paper. (Author/MLF)