Diverse definitions of equity in the provision of schooling are enumerated. An important distinction is made between viewing inequalities in earnings as measured in a given year and inequalities as seen on the scale of a lifetime. Accepting the latter view, the distributive effects of educational policies are discussed in terms of how they tend to work out in the processes of collective choice. A plea is made for taking a longer developmental view of how changes in the levels and distribution of education come about in order to make a more realistic assessment of progress toward equalization of life-time opportunities over the generations. (EH)