This paper provides an analysis of government-supported workforce development programs in the United States and selected states as of the end of 2024. We provide an overview of the topic of workforce development, defining this to include activities and funding mechanisms that aim to increase the skills of workers and help them succeed in the labor…

The Assessing Tuition- and Debt-Free Higher Education Task Force was convened in July 2016. Charged by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators's (NASFAA's) Board of Directors with evaluating the existing landscape of state and local promise programs with a focus on scaling such models to the national level, the task force…

To date, most of the public narrative and pushback on new teacher evaluation systems has centered around their use for high-stakes personnel decisions such as pay, promotion, and dismissal, but these systems were always intended to promote and support improvements for all teachers--not just the superstars or laggards. Why is teacher development…

What was the impact of government grants on the emerging national elementary school systems of the nineteenth century? This article deals with this question through a study of the introduction of matching government grants in Sweden during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The analysis shows that, although the government grants increased…

In Australia, the state and territory governments are responsible for dealing with young people who are involved in crime. One major aspect of the juvenile justice system is the supervision of children and young people who have committed or are alleged to have committed an offence. This report presents information on the young people under…

Technological innovation is driving fundamental changes in all aspects of our lives. This is especially true of digital content, as our use of e-books, downloadable music, streaming television and movies, and online social networks has exploded. However, the explosive growth in our use of digital content seems so far to have eluded many of the 50…

Policymakers and researchers have focused on improving the quality of our nation's 3 million teachers to raise the achievement of students in key academic areas, such as reading and mathematics. Given the importance of teacher quality to student achievement and the key role federal and state governments play in supporting teacher quality, GAO's…

As the national education policy community prepares for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), revamping the school improvement approach leveraged by accountability systems has risen to the top of the agenda. There is an emerging consensus that the school improvement process should be systemic, led by states and…

Family literacy programs are a unique component of the adult education system. They work by bringing parents with low literacy skills together with their children to learn and receive instruction, reaching a cohort of people who might not be served by other adult education programs. As parents see their children's learning increase, they are…

This brief enhances recommendations and policy strategies from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) publication "Reading to Achieve: A Governor's Guide to Adolescent Literacy". It reflects lessons from recent research and best practices from states selected to receive NGA Center support to develop statewide…

Observes that adequate health care is essential to every child's development and achievement. Discusses some of the indicators of child health and the U.S. Surgeon General's goals for childhood health care. Describes means of protecting child health and what the federal and state government role should be. (SG)

In response to a congressional inquiry, the General Accounting Office reviewed the work of five state humanities councils: California, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, and Oregon. Out of about 700 projects funded by these state councils during fiscal years 1982 and 1983, ten were judged by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) or state council…

Responses (N=22) to a nationwide survey of learning disability consultants indicated that 68% of states provided services for learning disabled preschool children; that funding included federal, state, local, and private sources; that various assessment instruments were used; and that consultants identified such major issues as possible negative…

This report explores how the states carried out the first year implementation of AmeriCorps, the signature component of the 1993 National and Community Service Trust Act. This initial study is part of a larger study of the effectiveness of the 1993 Act. The report is based on: interviews with the staff of the Corporation for National Service,…

Child care has become a central issue to most Californians and is increasingly important to policymakers. The Little Hoover Commission examined child care in California, focusing on the long-standing competition between the quantity of services available and the quality of services provided. Information was obtained from an advisory committee of…