This report provides a systematic evaluation of the role played by Federal funds in the total local-State-Federal complex of educational finance. The study, conducted by examining 573 school districts in five urbanized States, reports on a 4-year period, beginning with the 1965 fiscal year. The investigation revealed that rural areas receive more aid proportionately than do metropolitan areas, that many individual programs give more help to rich districts than they do to poor ones, and that uneven fund flows from year to year make it difficult for administrators to plan effectively. The report concludes that although overall federal aid tends to be allocated in greater proportion to districts with below-everage incomes and above-average ratios of non-white students, these attempts at equity are insufficient to overcome the national maldistribution of educational funds. (JF)