I live in Delaware, I'm 15, and I just got my permit
 
  
Youre able to get your permit 2 months before your 16th birthday, but for the first 6 months, you have to drive with a 25+ year old w/ 5 years driving experience (this is the stage I'm in). For the second six months, you are able to drive on your own, but only from 6?AM-9PM, except for school, church, or work. When you are 16 and 10 months, you can get your full liscense, no restrictions. 
I find this to be ok for me, and I think it does lower the accidents of teenagers. I get a lot of driving experience from the first six months because I'm with my parents the whole time, so I dont speed or do crazy stuff. IMO, I'm ready to drive by myself (either stick or auto), but I dont really mind waiting......its not the end of the world. 
The main problem of my state's driving education/policies is in the classroom. In Driver's Ed, I learned 
nothing. We drove for about 1 period (45 min) for 7 days. If we had spent all the time that we spent in the classroom out on the road, then students would have enough driving experience to get their full liscense as soon as they were done with the course.
Also, it didnt really matter if you sucked at driving, or if you were great.....you got a passing grade anyway (and was allowed to get your liscense). There's no test at DMV, so pretty much everybody gets their liscense.