In sum, the essential nature of Federal vocational education remained constant from 1917 until 1963, though authorizations for Federal allocations were raised under both the George–Barden Act of 1946 and the National Defense Education Act of 1958. Measured in terms of funding and enrollment, this early form of categorical assistance was successful. In 1917, just before implementation of Smith–Hughes, there were 200,000 vocational students in the United States and something less than $3 million was spent annually on their training. Forty years later, enrollment had increased to 3.4 million students and expenditures stood at $176 million. Smith–Hughes required dollar for dollar matching of Federal money by the States, local governments, or some combination thereof. As the decade of the 1950s closed—the last decade for the Smith–Hughes version of categorical intervention—Federal funds were over-matched by both State and local funds, taken separately.