In 1974, the National Institute of Education initiated a three-year study to determine what compensatory education programs have accomplished in the last decade and how they can be improved. Thirty-five separate projects investigated relative effectiveness of State and local approaches to implementing Title I in terms of the allocation of funds, delivery of services, and the cognitive, social, and emotional development of participating students. The research suggests that Title I has succeeded in providing additional educational services to those students whom the schools usually serve least well. Moreover, it is reported, State and local educators have told researchers that Title I has helped reverse a historical pattern of American education and has encouraged State and local districts to commit their own resources to previously neglected poor and disadvantaged students. (Author/KR)