A key thing to determine, experts say, is whether it is a good program that has merely hit a rough patch or whether it is basically flawed, with high fees and poor investment options.

The 529 savings plans, which take their name from a section of the U.S. tax code, allow families to set aside money for college costs, including tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Although contributions are not deductible on federal tax returns, the balances grow tax-deferred, and distributions for a child's college costs are tax-free.

Some states offer tax breaks as well, such as up-front deductions for contributions, or tax-free withdrawals, often targeted to their own residents.

Harold Simansky, head of Simansky Investments, in Brookline, Mass., and author of College Costs How Much?! The Workbook to Help You Save for School, recommends parents review their 529 accounts once a year.

"When you see poor performance, there can be many reasons," Simansky said. "The fees could be very high - that's the first place to look. Or maybe you're not properly diversified."

In some cases, investors can rebalance their holdings, perhaps shifting money into better-performing stock or bond funds.

But some of the state-sponsored 529 programs still do not offer a lot of investment options, Simansky said.

Some, for example, have not included much international stock, which is a category that has done extremely well in the last few years, he noted. Or they may not have any bond offerings, making it hard to provide a counterbalance to stock holdings.

Savers who are not happy with the options in their current 529 plans may want to look at the 529 offerings in other states.

Morningstar Inc., an independent investment-research firm based in Chicago, recently released its annual review of 529 plans. It looked at fees, the quality of the underlying funds, the strength of the managers, and the long-term track record.

Its "top five" plans were the Illinois Bright Start college-savings program; Maryland's college investment plan; the Virginia CollegeAmerica 529 savings plan and the Virginia education-savings trust; and the Colorado scholars-choice college-savings program, with managed funds including the Legg Mason Value Fund.

Marta Norton, a mutual fund analyst at Morningstar, who wrote the study, said it was important that plans offered a variety of investment alternatives.

"Lower fees, better funds, better diversification, the ability to customize for your personal risk tolerance - we think that will lead to a better experience over the long haul," she said.