Describes the Broward County (Florida) Research and Evaluation Department's assessment of a Sylvan Learning Systems remedial reading program employed in two district schools during 1993-94. Sylvan staff adequately equipped both sites, appropriately used diagnostic tests for placing students, implemented motivation and direct-instruction…

Since the state takeover, the Philadelphia school district has created a new governance model, in which for-profits, non-profits, and universities receive contracts to manage schools. Further, these and other organizations also receive contracts to provide a range of additional services. The shift to a public/private institutional structure,…

Examines Hartford, Connecticut's experiment with contracting out the entire management of its 32 schools. Data analysis involved examining relevant documents, and interviewing key school officials, the staff of the private school-management agency, and community representatives. The experiment met with considerable opposition and eventually…