Less than 25 percent of college students who take any developmental education courses earn a credential within eight years. Over the past three years, the six states in the Developmental Education Initiative have developed and enacted unprecedented changes in policy and practice in an effort to reverse these dismal outcomes. "Ahead of the…

Few states have established systems for overseeing dual enrollment programs to encourage institutions to align their practices with quality standards. Five states (Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota), have established incentives or requirements for post-secondary concurrent enrollment providers to pursue the National Alliance of…

Interest is growing in planning and implementing new systems of holding child and family services accountable for results. The Results-Based Accountability (RBA) Project at the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) has supported and built upon recent state efforts to develop these new accountability systems for child and family services. The RBA…

In 2002, Florida voters placed on the ballot through petition and passed a state constitutional amendment mandating universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds beginning in 2005; it was the nation's first voter-initiated, mandated UPK. This case study examines Florida's successful UPK campaign. The report highlights the leadership of David…

Summaries of the design, planning, and implementation of performance funding programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington reveal the challenges and opportunities of this reform approach. Performance measures and objectives and the history of the program in each…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there were commonalities in the approaches of 10 elementary school principals in the state of Florida identified as "success stories" in leading reading improvement in their schools in 2002, shortly after enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act at the national level and the Just…

This research study focuses an historical case study on a large-scale intervention called Florida SchoolYear (SY2000), which was a visionary example of how the state of Florida tried to design and develop a means for delivering quality education. By studying the Florida SY2000 Initiative, this research study examined issue-oriented questions…

The Better Care for the Babies (BCTB) Project was initiated in April 1989 to help states improve the quality of infant and toddler child care, especially for low-income children whose parents are in the labor force and/or making the transition from welfare to work. The BCTB Project initiated ongoing, negotiated, goal-directed technical assistance…

The second of two volumes presents descriptive and statistical data collected in a study to determine the impact of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) on special programs for exceptional children in 10 school districts and program development in five institutions. Case studies of the 10 districts give county code designation, date of…

Contrasts early childhood education policymakers with researchers to explore ways in which these groups differ and the ways in which the media, private foundations, and advocacy groups can facilitate communication among the two groups and the public. The author reviews her experiences in Florida to show how research can help shape policy for young…

A project was undertaken to design and field test a facility development model for competency-based vocational education programs in Florida. During the first phase of the project, the researchers conducted an in-depth case study of programs and facilities in which successful competency-based technical education programs had been conducted. Next,…

This case study, part of the State Structures for the Governance of Higher Education study, focuses on governance and related issues in Florida's higher education system. The study's overall purpose was to examine differences among states in their governance structures, and to determine if differences in performance were related to governing…

This book analyzes the responses of five states (Florida, Mississippi, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin) to challenges posed by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to alter state welfare programs and management systems. Using case studies, the book highlights similarities and differences in the states'…

A study examined employers' views regarding factors facilitating and obstructing the success of school-to-work transition programs (SWT) programs and ways of facilitating public and private sector participation in SWT programs for Florida's noncollege-bound youth. A literature review and multiple case studies of established youth apprenticeship…

State policies and activities for systematizing work force development were examined through a survey completed by individuals involved in work force development in 40 states and case studies of policies and programs in Texas, Utah, Florida, and Michigan. Throughout all levels of government and the private sector, consensus that work force…