THE PRESENT STATUS OF SPEECH PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY IN THE NATION'S SCHOOL SYSTEMS WAS INVESTIGATED. AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO DETERMINE THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL PROBLEMS EXISTING IN THIS AREA. THE OBJECTIVES WERE TO PROVIDE EDUCATORS AND CLINICIANS WITH INFORMATION ON THE GENERAL PRACTICE, TRENDS, AND DEPARTURES IN SPEECH PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY, AND TO IDENTIFY AND DEFINE UNRESOLVED PROBLEMS IN RELATION TO CURRENT RESEARCH, GROUPS IN NINE PROBLEM AREAS WERE APPOINTED REPRESENTING GEOGRAPHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL AREAS, AND CONSISTING OF A COLLEGE TRAINING PROGRAM SPECIALIST, TWO PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERVISORS OF SPEECH AND/OR HEARING THERAPY PROGRAMS, AND A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER. ALL NINE PROBLEM-AREA WORK GROUPS MET IN A GENERAL SESSION FOR A REVIEW OF THE BASIC PROBLEM, AND EACH WAS CHARGED WITH A SPECIFIC RESEARCH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ENSUING YEAR. THE GROUPS WERE TO DETERMINE THE STATUS AND PROBLEMS OF THEIR AREAS BY USE OF QUESTIONNAIRES, SURVEYS, AND LIBRARY RESEARCH. AN IMPORTANT RESULT WAS THE DISCOVERY OF AREAS WHICH DESERVE PARTICULAR SCRUTINY BECAUSE OF THEIR CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE OR BECAUSE OF LACK OF EXACT INFORMATION. A NATURAL OUTGROWTH OF THIS SURVEY WILL BE A SERIES OF MORE LIMITED, BETTER-CONTROLLED STUDIES DESIGNED TO ANSWER SPECIFIC PRESSING QUESTIONS. THIS NATIONAL SURVEY HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT RESEARCH ACTIVITY IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS CAN AND MUST BE INTENSIFIED. MANY OF THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AND THE UNSOLVED PROBLEMS REVEALED BY THE DATA OF THE SURVEY REQUIRE SYSTEMATIC RESEARCH TO PROVIDE ANSWERS. (JL)