This report portrays and discusses Federal spending for education programs in the context of a 26-year span: the past 20 years of actual experience (1964-1983) and the spending plan for the next six years proposed in the President's 1985 budget. In addition to the 26-year review, various measures such as spending in constant dollars, as a percent of the gross national product (GNP), as a percent of total Federal budget and annual and cumulative change analyses are reduced to provide context and perspective.