This paper traces the history of a series of early studies designed to identify and document unusually successful compensatory education projects. One of the major characteristics of the early studies is that they were based upon review and analysis of existing literature. Although they used similar data bases they varied considerably in methodology. Even the best of them would today be characterized as methodologically primitive. The studies were conducted between 1965 and 1972 and focused on activities such as actual identification of successful compensatory education projects, analyses of the characteristics of successful programs, identification of project components that differentiated successful from unsuccessful projects, follow-up of previously identified successes, and analysis of interstudy agreeement. Most of the studies included project identification and analyses of successful program characteristic phases. Several studies focused on the analysis of previously identified successful programs. Only one study attempted to determine if successful programs maintain their status over a period of years. These early studies had important policy implications for federal and state education agencies. They indicated that local compensatory education projects tended to conduct relatively unshophisticated self evaluations or none at all. Another finding of these early studies was that successful projects were not replicated at other unrelated sites. (Author/AM)