The primary assertion of this study was that equality of educational opportunity must reduce the poverty status of the poor and of minorities. This study argued that the most directly relevant school variable likely to reduce poverty is increased educational attainment because of its correlation to income which correlates to the quality of one's life. First, this thesis measured the existing extent of inequality in school attainment by race and by parent income, using a sample of 2,282 students ages 16 to 24 years drawn from the Michigan Panel Study Data Base. Second, an acceptable standard of educational attainment was constructed from the distribution of the aggregated white sample. The very poor white students were found to get much less education than the very poor black students. Elementary school intervention seemed critical for these populations since they showed a high incidence of leaving school before beginning the ninth grade. The highest income blacks were found to do better than the poorest blacks, but only marginally so. In contrast the highest income whites get schooling at about twice the rate of the highest income blacks. The highest income white students show the greatest differential when contrasted with the lowest income white group. (Author/JM)