This review critiques the highly-praised and influential 2001 study, "Getting Tough? The Impact of High School Graduation Exams," which concluded that "minimum competency," or high school "graduation exams," had no effect on student achievement. The review compares the test classifications of "Getting…

A study of nearly 30 urban elementary schools indicates that school composition (including race and socioeconomic background, school social structure, and certain social climate variables) explains more than 83 percent of between-school variance in reading achievement and 65 percent in mathematics achievement. (Author/GC)

Research for Better Schools (RBS) is supporting improvement efforts in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. One form of this support is RBS's participation in collaborative projects to develop a system-wide, research-utilization approach to the improvement of basic skills instruction. Educational systems following the approach employ a staff…

This study identifies and evaluates changes in secondary schools not meeting the minimum standards required by New Jersey as tested on the Minimum Basic Skills Test. The study identified the deficiencies in three urban high schools and evaluated the progress toward meeting the standards. All but 2 of the 76 recommendations made were implemented.…

The Comprehensive Basic Skills Program Review was designed by the New Jersey State Department of Education to provide a diagnosis of problems contributing to inadequate achievement in the basic skills. Local program reviews followed the state developed process and were conducted by many schools. The process analyzed the existing school programs…

The status of New Jersey school districts' evaluation and reporting network of compensatory education programs is surveyed. The procedures involved in the analysis are explained, and the results are interpreted. The reported analyses compared actual student growth to growth that could be expected without Basic Skills Improvement (BSI) program…

The New Jersey Department of Education asked Research for Better Schools, Inc., to design and conduct a study of the Cognitive Pilot Program of the Broad Based Component of the state's Urban Initiative. The purpose was to provide descriptive information about the implementation of the program in all 21 pilot program sites and of promising…

This resource manual for administrators, supervisors, and teachers was developed to foster the effective use of the in-class instructional model in basic skills improvement (BSI) programs in elementary schools. Funded by federal, state, and local sources, BSI programs are designed to be coordinated with school districts' developmental programs to…

Uses health and openness metaphors to develop measures of organizational climate in a study of 86 middle schools. In addition to socioeconomic status, other aspects of school climate that significantly influence student achievement in basic skills are environmental press, collegial leadership, teacher professionalism, and academic press. Moreover,…

An adult basic education (ABE) project was undertaken in 1977 in southern New Jersey to take instruction to students in rural areas. The region was one in which some 75% of the population had not completed high school. Centered in Millville with satellite centers in four rural townships whose secondary students are bussed to Millville, the project…

An overview is presented of the New Jersey Department of Education's activities in response to the following mandates: (1) statewide minimum standards be established for communication/computation skills; (2) students be tested annually in these areas to determine progress; and (3) remediation be provided to all students whose performance is below…

The New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test was administered to 42,984 freshmen entering New Jersey colleges and universities and four independent colleges in the fall of 1978 in order to assess students' specific strengths and weaknesses in reading, writing, and mathematics for placement in appropriate first-year courses. Based on test…

The impact of testing and promotion standards on students in urban schools was discussed by urban school superintendents from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Pointing to research that suggests that standards alone are not enough to boost achievement, many educators recommend coupling more rigorous standards with appropriate remedial programs, staff…

This report on trends in school improvement test results presents an analysis and synthesis of 1978-1984 student performance data from four state-mandated testing programs: (1) the Educational Quality Assessment Program in Pennsylvania; (2) the Minimum Basic Skills Program in New Jersey; (3) the Delaware Educational Assessment Program in Delaware;…

The New Jersey Educational Assessment Program (EAP) is a statewide testing program used to assess reading and mathematics achievement, and to provide useful information to educational decision makers at the state and local levels. In May 1976, the State Department of Education conducted a survey of all local school superintendents regarding their…