This monograph discusses some basic concepts and reviews some of the more salient research findings dealing with equality of educational opportunity. Major emphasis of the author's inquiry is on how educational opportunity and educational attainment relate to social background. Chapter 1 attempts to clarify what is meant by equality of educational opportunity. Chapter 2 discusses the relationship between IQ and educational attainment, on the one hand, and occupational success. Chapter 3 argues that the concept of ability must be regarded in a sociological context. Chapter 4 is a comprehensive review of European and American research on reserves of talent, using Sweden as an illustrative case. Chapter 5 examines how various features of the formal educational system affect educational opportunity. Chapter 6 considers the relationship between home background and educational attainment. Finally, chapter 7 presents the author's conclusions and elaborates on some of the policy implications of the findings. (Author/JG)