A NATIONAL EVALUATION WAS INITIATED TO LEARN HOW TITLE I PROGRAMS ARE BEING OPERATED AND MANAGED BY STATES, WHAT KINDS OF OUTCOMES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED, AND WHETHER VARIOUS APPLICATIONS OF TITLE I FUNDS ARE HELPING YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS GAIN THE BASIC SKILLS AND THE IMPROVED SELF-CONCEPT NEEDED WHEN THEY ARE RELEASED FROM INSTITUTIONS. THERE WERE THREE SPECIFIC EVALUATION OBJECTIVES: (1) TO COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT REPRESENTATIVE TITLE I PROGRAMS; (2) TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF TITLE I PROGRAMS ON BASIC READING AND MATHEMATICS SKILLS; AND (3) TO DEVELOP EVALUATION MODELS AND REPORTING FORMS FOR USE BY INSTITUTIONS AND STATE AGENCIES IN THEIR ANNUAL EVALUATION REPORTS TO THE U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION. BEFORE SELECTING 100 PROJECT SITES FOR THE EVALUATION, INSTITUTIONS ELIGIBLE FOR TITLE I FUNDING WERE STRATIFIED IN TERMS OF TYPE OF FACILITY, GEOGRAPHIC REGION, AND NUMBER OF STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR TITLE I AID. DATA WERE COLLECTED IN 1976 AND ANALYZED IN TERMS OF WHO TITLE I PROGRAMS SERVE, SERVICES OFFERED BY TITLE I PROGRAMS, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH TITLE I PROGRAMS OPERATE, AND THE ROLE OF STATES IN PROGRAMS. TITLE I NEGLECTED OR DELINQUENT YOUTH PROGRAMS GENERALLY SUPPLEMENTED EXISTING EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS IN THE STATES. ACTUAL PER-STUDENT TITLE I EXPENDITURES WERE ROUGHLY ONE-HALF OF OTHER STATE EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES. IN ADULT INSTITUTIONS, HOWEVER, TITLE I AND REGULAR STATE EDUCATION FUNDING WERE ABOUT EQUAL. PROGRAMS AT THE 100 SAMPLE FACILITIES WERE ORIENTED HEAVILY TOWARD BASIC READING AND MATHEMATICS RATHER THAN TOWARD REGULAR EDUCATION PROGRAMS. INDIVIDUALIZATION OF INSTRUCTION AND ONGOING ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PROGRESS OCCURRED TO A MUCH GREATER EXTENT IN TITLE I PROGRAMS THAN IN REGULAR EDUCATION PROGRAMS. AT SITES WHERE STRONG EMPHASIS WAS PLACED ON REMEDIAL READING AND MATH, STAFF PERCEIVED TITLE I PROGRAMS TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS IN FACILITIES PLACING LESS EMPHASIS ON BASIC SKILLS. STUDENTS REPORTED SATISFACTION WITH THEIR TEACHERS AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES. VERY LITTLE TITLE I FUNDING FOR NEGLECTED OR DELINQUENT YOUTH WAS USED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSES AT THE STATE LEVEL. FACILITY-LEVEL EXPENDITURES WERE MAINLY FOR CLASSROOM PERSONNEL. IMPROVEMENTS IN STUDENT ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TITLE I PROGRAMS WERE OBSERVED. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT IMMEDIATE ATTENTION BE GIVEN TO UNDERSTANDING FEDERAL GUIDELINES CONCERNING THE TITLE I PROGRAM TO MAXIMIZE ITS IMPACT ON STUDENTS. SUPPORTING DATA AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. AN APPENDIX CONTAINS THE FINDINGS OF TITLE I PROGRAM DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS AND A PROFILE ANALYSIS OF THE TITLE I FACILITY CLIMATE. (DEP)