The focus of this report is on the utility of desegregation as a method for achieving racial equality. Background information is provided through a discussion of the Brown Decision, a review of related literature and the meaning of racial equality. Comparisons of black and white achievement scores are used to address the question of equality. Additional data and a pattern of data analysis based on a three year investigation of a midwestern city's court-ordered desegregation program are used to illustrate a perspective for research on desegregation. Reference is made to variables which affect "first order change" (apparent change) and "second order change" (real change). It is argued that the question of whether desegregation works or not is somewhat less important than the more specific questions which identify the kinds of change and the important variables which determine the desired outcomes. (Author/EB)