Critics of the Federal Title I and Chapter 1 compensatory education programs to increase the academic skills of disadvantaged children suggest that the return for the Federal investment has been small and that designers have not created programs that work. When the compensatory education programs were conceived, their promise was immense. During its 30-year history, the Federal initiative has been affected by regulatory structures and by demographic and educational changes in the nation. Although program goals were fairly clear, the program has become increasingly intricate and often confusing. Particular aspects of pull-out, add-on, in-class programs, and schoolwide projects are examined, along with program impacts on curriculum and instruction, parent participation, teacher education, and the education of minority students. Suggestions for the improvement of the Title I and Chapter 1 programs center on restoring their original goals and returning to the idea of improving education to the point at which compensatory programs are no longer needed at all. (Contains 66 references.) (SLD)