This report presents a case study concerning the accomplishments of the Kansas City (Missouri) specialized magnet schools that were created to cure the low academic achievement of minority students and eliminate the racial isolation that existed. The plan sought to dramatically improve the facilities and programming of the city schools, the expected results of which were to be an increase in the academic achievements of minority students and the attraction of White students from the suburbs. The study reveals only modest gains both in academic achievement and desegregation resulting from the plan. The strongest evidence for increased academic improvement was confined to the elementary schools. Considerable progress was made in the redistribution of the existing student pool and interracial exposure, but the attraction of new White students into the district was hard to judge. Based on these findings and others, the report recommends greater efforts by the courts in addressing the issue of long-term maintenance needs before implementing large-scale facility improvements. There is also the need to provide explicit indicators of educational achievement and to make court-ordered resources contingent on achieving certain academic goals. Finally, future goals of magnet schools should be confined to enhancing educational quality for disadvantaged minority youth rather than being a tool for desegregation. (GLR)