THIS PAPER SUMMARIZES AND EVALUATES THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE AND RESEARCH ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHER AIDES IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. FIRST, THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE TEACHER AIDE IS DEPICTED, AS WELL AS CURRENT TRENDS IN THE UTILIZATION OF SCHOOL AIDES. THEN THE AIMS OF VARIOUS TEACHER AIDE PROGRAMS ARE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL, COVERING THE FULL RANGE OF DUTIES ASSIGNED TO THE AUXILIARY, AS WELL AS THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND THE SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTED. FINALLY, PAST AND PRESENT TECHNIQUES AND PROGRAMS ARE ANALYZED AND EVALUATED, AND NEEDED RESEARCH AND FOLLOW-UP STUDIES IN THE AREA ARE SUGGESTED. (RP)