To support a comprehensive look at the problem of increasing minority student achievement in the Montgomery County Schools (Maryland), this report reviews the literature to identify factors affecting minority achievement and to learn from 20 years of programs aimed at low achievers. Section I describes three types of intervention programs: (1) federal/national (Headstart and other early intervention programs, Chapter I and other compensatory approaches, and the privately developed People United to Save Humanity, PUSH-EXCELL program; (2) private school programs; and (3) public school district programs in the District of Columbia, New York City, Austin, and San Diego. Section II reviews the findings on strategy effectiveness at the overall school level (principal leadership, school climate, grade organization, class size, ability grouping, and pullout instruction), the classroom level (time-on-task, curricular variation, direct instruction, teacher feedback, teacher expectations, teaching strategies, student team learning, and mastery learning), and out-of-school (community and parental involvement). Based on these findings Section III recommends further analysis of variables shown to enhance low-achieving students' performance: class size reduction to 15 or less; student team learning and teacher training programs such as Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement (TESA); and mastery learning programs. (BS)