Newark, New Jersey, once called "The Worst American City," is a city that has lost 36 percent of its population since 1930 (from 442,000 to 280,000) and is now more than half black and nearly 40 percent poor. It is a city, reported the "New York Times," where "budgeting is a Rube Goldberg morass with a deficit…

This report examines costs of higher education in New Jersey, comparing the state's system of higher education and its individual sectors with national counterparts. The comparison takes into account such factors as differences in the cost of living and the size and relevant structural characteristics of a state's higher education system. In…

Meeting the needs specified by accountability measures under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has provided the importance for schools to create innovative systems for curricular management. To meet adequate yearly progress, schools must be able to address standards and assessment changes in an effective manner. This case study chronicles one…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

The impact of state-mandated testing on an urban school district in New Jersey is examined in this paper, which describes the evolution of the testing program and its shift in emphasis from individual student assessment to its use as the primary indicator of school success or failure. To meet state certification standards, 75 percent of the third,…

This module is one of several designed for the Camden Teacher Corps project. The general objectives of the module are a) to develop or increase the student's awareness of selected, abiding issues related to education facing New Jersey and the nation; b) to develop the student's thinking and analysis as they relate to the issues; and c) to provide…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states have leeway to: (1) Craft their own academic standards, select their own tests, and define…

The Jersey City (New Jersey) Public Schools became the first school district in the United States to be taken over and fully operated by a state agency on October 4, 1989. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the first 2 years during which the takeover was implemented, with a focus on the internal and external forces that affected…

The New Jersey Constitution requires that all students receive a "thorough and efficient" education. In Robinson v. Cahill, the New Jersey Supreme Court found that the state funding system and program monitoring systems were inadequate and ordered the legislature to correct these deficiencies. As a result, New Jersey has recently…

The speaker concentrates on the effects of statewide accountability implementation on school system management and on the state's delivery of educational services. In discussing the need to link accountability systems with existing organizational systems, the speaker spends the majority of his time examining how the New Jersey efforts relate to…

The Executive Director of the New Jersey Education Association discusses some of the top priorities facing his organization in the coming years. These include educational quality, accountability and testing, tenure, academic standards, and urban schools. (SJL)

School desegregation court cases provided the impetus to early experimental efforts at government takeover of public schools. Most recently, states have taken over school districts for failure to demonstrate adequate academic progress (educational bankruptcy). North Carolina's ABC program is profiled. Legal, financial, and organizational…

Presented in this paper are the results of interviews undertaken in 1977 to determine who supported a new statewide minimum standards bill in New Jersey and why. The views of forty individuals who were selected on the basis of their active involvement in the statewide minimum standards issue, are summarized in statements following each of twelve…

In the fall of 1972, superintendents and principals in 21 school district with significant Puerto Rican enrollment were interviewed. The interviews (usually lasting over three hours) focused on the educators' attitudes toward Puerto Ricans as a people; their perceptions of the educational needs of Puerto Rican youngsters; views on accountability,…