AbstractThis paper, which was originally presented at the Second International Working Seminar of the University of Sussex in April 1978, gives an overview of Operational Research as applied to formal education in the United States. It first reviews past work in the field, much of which dates from the mid 1960's, when administrators first turned to O.R. for resolution of education's peculiar crisis situation. From this base, it develops a projection of an attainable state of the science and a proposal for its attainment.