ABSTRACT
The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and the various Title programs within it, provides an opportunity to reflect on its successes and challenges. Since its passage in 1965, the ESEA has provided federal funds to states-and ultimately to districts and schools-that are intended to “level the playing field” for students at risk of education failure. Has it worked? When it has been successful, the results are noteworthy. For example, the achievement gap between African American and European American children narrowed between the 1970s and 1990s (Grissmer, 1998) in large part because of reading and mathematics programs funded by Title I.
