The use of standardized test results to drive school administrator evaluations pervades education policymaking in more than 40 states. However, the results of state standardized tests are strongly influenced by non-school factors. The models of best fit (n = 18) from this correlational, explanatory, longitudinal study predicted accurately the…

This longitudinal quantitative study investigates how participation in the Comprehensive College Readiness Access and Success Program (CCRASP) affects underrepresented urban students' college persistence. Results revealed that CCRASP participation was associated with higher percentages of students enrolling in both 2- and 4-year colleges as…

The population growth, labor force participation, and educational attainment of Latinos in the U.S. influence the composition of the current and future U.S. society, economy, and workforce. In 2012, the Latino population in the United States is the youngest and fastest growing ethnic group, with the highest level of labor force participation…

Persistently low-achieving public schools around the country have received $5.8 billion from the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, in addition to districts and state funds, and other supplementary federal funds. Despite all of these sources of funding, most of the schools receiving them have failed to make a dramatic difference in…

This study evaluates how welcoming thirty American cities--the twenty-five largest and five smaller "hotspots"--are to "nontraditional" problem-solvers and solutions. It assumes that the balky bureaucracies meant to improve K-12 education and hold leaders accountable are so calcified by policies, programs, contracts, and…

Event-history analyses of 97 New Jersey manufacturing plants during 1973-87 reveal that plant survival was related to investment in knowledge (better educated employees and new technologies), decentralized line-operating authority, less formalization of authority, either independence or relative autonomy from parent company, and industrywide…

In order to understand the impact of New Jersey's standards and assessment policies, this study examined how leaders in six school districts responded to the state's standards and the fourth grade Elementary School Proficiency Assessment, specifically in the area of mathematics. Building on earlier work exploring district responses to testing,…

The study described in this report examined the direct economic impact of Brookdale Community College (BCC) on Monmouth County and the economic impact of the state community college system on New Jersey. Chapter 1 reviews the background and significance of economic impact studies; discusses the issue from general, New Jersey, and BCC perspectives;…