Approximately one-third of American freshmen at two-year and four-year colleges require remedial coursework and over 40 percent of employers rate new hires with a high school diploma as "deficient" in their overall preparation for entry-level jobs. Yet, over the past decade, as these students marched through America's public education…

Since the 1970s, American governors have become increasingly active in education politics. Where they once told state education chiefs to "make me the best education governor ever," they now demand control of state boards of education, push for state control of school funding, and urge statewide standards for teacher evaluation. This…

Several approaches that policymakers may wish to consider in enacting and sustaining educational excellence are summarized. This issue brief draws from presentations given at two sessions on education and excellence held at the 1983 meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures. California's approach is highlighted, based on the…