This report presents school-level finance data on expenditures by function from the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS). The SLFS is an extension of two existing collections being conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in collaboration with the Census Bureau: the School District Finance Survey (F-33) and the state-level…

This article describes the development and validation of an instrument called science identities, expectations of success in science, values of science, and environmental attitudes (SIEVEA). The instrument is a convenient online survey that can be used to measure students' SIEVEA. First, 1764 high school students from 11 school districts in New…

Informed by the Social-Emotional and Character Development (SECD) approach to school turnaround, the present study examined the relationship between students' recollection and reflection of their experience in a SECD program and academic achievement and explored the mediating effect of student-teacher relationships. Based on an intervention in an…

It is important that school employees understand the meaning of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying [HIB] as defined by NJ's HIB legislation as a result of the professional development [PD] opportunities provided by their school district. Adequate training on HIB, HIB legislation, and intervention/prevention strategies is paramount in reducing…

Looking for a K--12 art teaching position can be a daunting endeavor. What do school district administrators and art teachers feel is important when hiring visual arts teachers and how do they carry out the job search process? This is a question author Lisa LaJevic often hears from her preservice art teachers as they near the end of their college…

The purpose of this research was to identify the role of the relationship between the school board and the school superintendent. This study was an effort to describe the role of relationship between the two stakeholders and what effect that relationship had on school climate and how their relationship impacted their ability to develop a strong…

This study investigated the role of both arts-integrated instruction (art activities as part of math instruction) and teacher immediacy (teacher caring behaviors) levels on students' math achievement. Although students from low socio-economic culturally diverse school districts have shown improvement in academic test scores, their scores are still…

The Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act was adopted by the New Jersey legislature in August 2012 with the intent to raise student achievement by improving the overall quality of instruction. As a result of this act, new teacher evaluation systems, known as ACHIEVE NJ, have been introduced in school…

This executive position paper identifies preferred modes of communication for parents and guardians in a small New Jersey Public School District. Research was conducted because there has been an unprecedented test refusal initiative by parents and guardians of New Jersey Public School Students who are mandated to sit for Partnership for Assessment…

This report presents the findings from a rigorous national survey of charter school authorizers conducted in 2011 by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA). This is the fourth time NACSA has conducted this type of national survey. As in years past, the vast majority of authorizers (90 percent) are school districts and they…

This study focused on students' responses toward an experimental instructional program called Flex-time that was offered in grades three through five in a Southeast NJ school district. The study aimed to determine: (1) if the Flex program motivated and/or engaged students to have a love for learning and (2) if characteristics, such as grade level,…

Response to Intervention (RTI) has become the gateway to identification for many students with specific learning disabilities. Those include students in the 17 states that require RTI as the source of eligibility data as well as many students in the 33 states that allow districts to choose RTI among other options (e.g., discrepancy). There is…

In America today, families in almost every urban community have some kind of public school choice. This report focuses on "public school choice," under which families are able to choose from both an array of traditional public schools and public charter schools. Public school choice has grown rapidly in the past 20 years; new charter…

This study seeks to address the question "How do school and district leaders and teachers become aware of, take steps to comprehend, and form opinions about state policies?" These "first impression processes" represent significant parts of the processes by which district administrators, school administrators, and teachers make…

In an ongoing study, RAND researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of Carnegie Learning's Cognitive Tutor Algebra I (CTAI) curriculum, a technology-based curriculum that combines classroom instruction with individualized instruction by a computer-based tutor. While the effectiveness of the curriculum in raising student achievement is the main…