Louisiana has received recent attention for some of its new education policies and promising early results. In this report, RAND researchers provide an in-depth description of Louisiana's approach to improving student outcomes since 2012. The authors examine how the state has used various policy levers -- including mandates, resource alignment,…

"The SEA of the Future" is an education publication series examining how state education agencies can shift from a compliance to a performance-oriented organization through strategic planning and performance management tools to meet growing demands to support education reform while improving productivity. This volume, the sixth in the…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

A need for the development of a policy research base regarding state implementation pf evidence-based practice (EBP) is emphasized. Efforts are made on how to make use of EBP in everyday clinical practice as a means of improving outcomes in six states.

College and career readiness has become a unifying principle for education reform leaders across the country. A majority of states have made it a top policy priority, with an increasing number of national foundations and education reform advocates supporting this work. To help state leaders build strategies for sustaining their education agendas…

The policy-making and policy implementation processes used in Swedish higher education, the most comprehensive recent reform effort, are analyzed to illuminate the larger problem of higher education reform in general. It is concluded that the experiences do not fit the standard models of public choice, nor do they conform to prevailing ideas about…

This report presents the state, district, and local education staff development objectives in South Carolina, based on defined educational needs assessment. Suggestions include definition of the change process, discussion questions, staff development planning, empowerment, and new opportunities. Each level of the program is based on the concept of…

The Western Job Training Partnership Association (WJTPA) supports the periodic evaluation of the scope and effectiveness of national, state, and local work force preparation and work force education programs. The WJTPA believes that future programs must correct the problems inherited from earlier work force preparation programs, such as the…

The middle-level education initiative described in this document outlines an innovative program to assist New Mexico school districts in addressing the needs of early adolescents. Findings and recommendations that underscore the need for middle-level educational reform in New Mexico's schools are presented in this report. The state is a recipient…

An evaluative study was done of California's Bilingual Education Program, the goal of which has been to teach English and other academic skills to more than half a million students with limited English backgrounds. While the State Department of Education provided no comprehensive evaluation, there is evidence that some components have been…

This report is one of three resulting from a 50-state survey on the development of family policies through the implementation of Public Law 99-457 (Part H) and focuses on the Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC), the participation of family members, parental access to services, the identification of family strengths and needs, and family…

This plan for implementing the redesign and refocus of vocational education in West Virginia includes a mission statement and five other major sections covering career orientation, secondary vocational education, adult education, modernization, and personnel development. The career orientation program includes developmental guidance, student…

This annual report describes Illinois activities in the implementation of a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated system of early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers and their families, as called for under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The report provides: (1) discussion of progress in each of the 14…

This document, developed by the Ninth Institute on Rehabilitation Issues Prime Study Group on Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), is intended to provide basic information and guidelines to state agencies for implementing meaningful services to SLD clients. The publication is organized into five sections, with each section divided into…

This case study was undertaken in order to discover if there are different types of policy language, and, if so, to describe relationships betweeen policy language types and policy implementation. Content analysis of three drafts of the state educational policy, "Standards for Approving Vermont's Public Schools," demonstrated the…