A study analyzed the component parts of existing formulae to distribute federal vocational monies to secondary level programs in Missouri. Among the areas examined were the relative weight of the factors influencing distribution of funds and the extent to which each factor contributes to the final array depicting the total distribution of federal funds to school districts in Missouri. The first task performed was a simple scatter plot of the major components of the four factors in the formula, namely, district tax levies, average income, number of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients in the school districts, and the rate of unemployment by counties where federal vocational funds are being expended. Next, a stepwise regression analysis was run to determine which variables account for the greatest variance in the distribution formula for federal funds. Researchers found that the variables included in the formula are not distributed in a normal fashion. While the law requires that two factors, the relative ability to pay and the concentration of low income families, must receive a high priority in the distribution of federal funds, the Missouri formula does not appear to pay enough attention to a family's relative ability to pay. (MN)