The purpose of this report is to provide readers with a comparative analysis of the Massachusetts workforce "system" structures and performance reporting processes compared to other states. Though the federal workforce development system is often examined in its entirety and individual state systems are at times examined independently,…

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…

Louisiana has emerged as one of the most fascinating states in the nation for education reform. The state's creative response to rebuilding the New Orleans education system in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is now considered a potential model for reformers across the nation. Governor Bobby Jindal has carried the reforms further in pushing for…

The Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) provides information on re-designing curriculum and instruction in schools, re-defining roles and responsibilities of school staffs, and promoting changes to address the needs of the Southeast's growing and diverse student population. SERVE offers a series of publications entitled "Hot…

In cities and towns across America, millions of children and youth get out of school by mid-afternoon but have neither a safe, supervised place to go nor a structured or engaging activity in which to participate. Because the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. are when young people are most likely to be affected by crime or to engage in risky…

The Bright Futures Scholarship (BFS), Florida's lottery-funded, merit-based scholarship program, has been a source of both praise and criticism since its 1997 inception. Proponents of the scholarship assert the program has achieved the desired goals of making college more affordable for state residents and encouraging the brightest students to…

A review of the annual report of Jobs for America's Graduates, Inc., regarding the activities of the Jobs for Florida's Graduates Program, concluded that the program had not met its goals. It does not appear that the program will meet its statutory outcome goals of an 82 percent student graduation rate and a 70-75 percent employment rate, and the…

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…

As a result of a mandate by the 1990 Legislature, an independent study was made of Florida's system of vocational education and employment and training. Staff of the legislature and the governor's office worked on requests for proposals, reviewed responses, and monitored the study, which ran from November 1990 until February 1991. The study's…

The Sixth Annual Evaluation Report has been developed by the Florida State Advisory Council on Vocational and Technical Education through its evaluation committee. The recommendations reflect the Council's thinking as related to specific components of the Florida program of vocational and technical education. An introductory section contains a…

To address the issues of student recruitment and retention in Florida, a three-year research study was conducted. The three phases of the study sought the following: (1) to describe barriers to recruitment and retention of disadvantaged, unemployed, underemployed, out-of-school youth as perceived by students, teachers, counselors, and…

The Jobs for Florida's Graduates (JFG) program targets high school students and provides services to help these students graduate and to continue their education or find meaningful employment within one year of graduation. School managers and "job specialists" serve as mentors, identify at-risk high school students, and provide them with…

The research and development (R&D) projects funded by the Florida Division of Vocational Education are intended to have utility for vocational educators in their efforts to improve vocational education programs and practices. This project was conducted to determine why some R&D products are accepted by potential users while others are not…

A study examined the views of business and industry on the Florida vocational and technical education system. Representatives from 284 Florida firms and 44 supervisors completed interviews based on two project-developed questionnaires. Sought in the questionnaires were employer perceptions concerning the following areas: awareness of vocational…

After studying the testing and remedial programs used in Florida's public schools, the Task Force on Educational Assessment Programs presented its findings and recommendations. Findings are reported regarding: the schedule for implementing the testing program (which requires that students pass the Functional Literacy Test before they may graduate…