This paper explores patterns of growth in participation in six Anglophone and seven Francophone countries in SSA. The countries are Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Niger and Senegal. These countries all have large scale Universal Primary Education programmes and all have demographic and health survey (DHS) data sets collected at least ten years apart. These allow comparisons over time to see how participation has been changing. The results show that progress has been patchy and sometimes disappointing. Access remains strongly associated with household wealth despite commitments to pro-poor policies. The chances of the poorest being enrolled relative to the richest have generally not improved substantially, and in some cases have deteriorated. Reductions in numbers of out of school children have in some cases been accompanied by increases in the proportion over age. Poorer children and rural children are more likely to be over age and unlikely to complete schooling, especially if they are girls. The message is clear. Though there has been progress, it falls far short of the gains that were anticipated. Much more progress is needed to achieve universal access with equity and to close the gap between the poorer and richer households. (Contains 9 tables and 13 figures.)