Abstract: Poverty alleviation through education, in particular to that in the US, is a political issue of great concern to all countries in the world. An evolution of American policies on poverty alleviation through elementary education presents a constant reflection on equality values. Four shifts, since the 20^th century, have been experienced: 1) “nominal equality” employed to guarantee equality on thresh-hold in the early 20^th century; 2) “compensatory equality” adopted to stress on equal opportunities in the middle 20^th century; 3) “substantial equality” taken to ensure equality in process in the late 20^th century; 4) “differential equality” accepted to pursue equality on education achievement in the 21^st century.

Key words: elementary education in the US, policy of poverty alleviation through education, equity values