IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMPENSATORY-EDUCATION FUNDING

Four ways of providing additional funds for low-income students are co mpared: (a) Separate programs for such students may have stigmatizing effects. (b) Districtwide discretionary funding may lead to programs t hat benefit middle- and higher-income students more than the intended low-income recipients. (c) Buildingwide funding for schools with many low-income students offers a way to avoid stigmatizing and/or diversio nary effects of other funding paths. This method is recommended for la rge-scale trial. (d) Vouchers given exclusively to low-income families are a fourth possibility, as yet largely untried.