ABSTRACT

For the past 35 years, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has been the largest and most important federal resource for reforming high-poverty schools. Drawing on recent research, this article documents what we know about Title I’s overall effectiveness and discusses how it may become a more effective intervention. The author concludes by making 3 policy recommendations for fostering better research and better programs: implement a rigorous and uniform national accountability system; support continued research and development of replicable programs and methods for improving schooling for disadvantaged children; and encourage large-scale randomized experiments of promising programs and practices.