This description of federal compensatory education programs for the economically disadvantaged was prepared for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's review of national education policies. As background, the report first describes the U.S. educational system, the social and educational changes since 1954 that gave rise to compensatory programs, and the current debates over these programs. Six chapters then discuss the goals, target populations, services, and results of federal compensatory programs at the preschool, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels, including the training of teachers to serve disadvantaged groups. Among the programs covered are Head Start, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), youth employment training, vocational education, Upward Bound, Talent Search, Special Services for Disadvantaged Students, Educational Opportunity Centers, college work study, Educational Opportunity Grants, college student loans, and the Teacher Corps. Three final chapters examine the compensatory programs' common objectives and implementation procedures, assess the programs' impact on educational resources and achievement, and analyze the multiplicity of federal compensatory programs and the proposed solutions to this problem. An appendix presents detailed case studies of Head Start, Title I of ESEA, and the Teacher Corps. (RW)