This document reports on the 1987 external review of the nine Regional Educational Laboratories which evaluated lab performance during the first 18-20 months of their contracts and evaluated their plans for the remaining 3 years of the contracts. Observations about lab plans are presented on a program-wide basis. It is reported that the 3-5 year plans developed by the labs leave questions for the review panel about the overall clarity and vision of the labs' missions. This appears to led to uncertainty in the area of programmatic decision-making. The way in which labs set priorities was seen as not always clear. Some labs have experienced a profound shift of identity and purpose from being developer and provider of research and development to that of a linking agency, working primarily with and through other educational service agencies. The following questions are discussed: (1) Are the labs to be pro-active or reactive within their regions? (2) To what extent should regional labs also have some national identity? and (3) Are the intended degree and benefits of collaboration among the labs being achieved? Recommendations are made regarding the future of the program. (JD)