Findings of a study of 1980-1981 award accuracy of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOGs), or Pell Grants, are summarized. The study is the first stage of a three-stage quality control project and includes recommended corrective actions to reduce inaccuracies in the grant awards. A sample of 4,500 students were selected as representative of the 2.36 million students in the BEOG recipient population as of fall 1980. Data were collected from federal tax returns, interviews with student recipients and their parents, tax assessors' statements regarding home values, student records on file in college financial aid offices, and interviews with financial aid administrators describing the characteristics and administrative practices at their institutions. It was found that an estimated $650 million (nearly 30 percent of all program dollars) was awarded incorrectly in 1980-1981, more than 70 percent of all program participants received incorrect awards, funds overawarded exceeded funds underawarded by more than four to one, and an estimated $352 million was awarded to 450,000 students (19 percent of all recipients) who were ineligible under 1980-1981 program requirements. The majority of this error was due to information supplied by students on the application form. Institutional procedures caused somewhat less error, and error by application processors was minimal. Recommended corrective actions are of two kinds: those that can be instituted within the scope of the current delivery system, and those that can be instituted in the context of a radical restructuring of the system. It is suggested that students be required to prove need rather than claiming need without presenting verifying information. (SW)