The long-term effects of state compensatory education (SCE) and Chapter 1 programs on the development of basic skills and academic achievement of Sacramento (California) were studied for a sample of over 6,000 SCE and Chapter 1 students in grades 2 through 5. Follow-up and retroactive approaches were used to ascertain the degree to which thinking skills of these students appear to have improved and to determine what kinds of students have exited from these programs in the 4 years. Major findings were: (1) mean scores on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills increased gradually; (2) a majority of these students stayed in the program all 4 years, with about 10 percent exiting consistently; (3) White students were the most successful and Hispanic American students were the least successful in exiting programs; and (4) the earlier students were identified and received program services, the more positive were the long-term achievement results. Recommendations are included for further study of successful programs and for action to improve the academic achievement of Blacks and Hispanic Americans. There are 15 tables of study data and 4 illustrative figures. Two appendices contain charts of grade skippers and repeaters and score conversions to normal curve equivalents. (SLD)