A review of literature relevant to equal educational opportunity is presented in order to support an argument for the use of normative models in educational research. The literature review shows that confusion over the 1966 Coleman Report was due to a mismatch between the implied reform objective of the report and its statistical approach. The objective was to reduce differences in educational achievement between blacks and whites, but the statistics explained individual rather than group differences in achievement. In response to this research dilemma, a normative dynamic model of the objectives of school integration over time is developed and applied. A normative objective model has theoretical significance because it can be used in conjunction with behavioral data to operationalize concepts such as accountability, symbolic politics and non-decisions. (Author/MK)