Administrative strength, reform, and school-district performance

In this dissertation the author intends to test how administrative strength affects student performance. The author will use eight years of panel data from New Jersey public school districts and interviews with school district administrators to address four questions. First, has additional aid under court-mandated reform resulted in a greater administrative strength? Second, is an increase in administrative strength a response to poor performance? Third, does administrative strength affect school-district performance? Lastly, what role do administrators play in influencing school-district performance? New Jersey is well suited for this study; given its prominence in the court-mandated reform movement and its diverse student population, it should provide results that apply to other states implementing similar policies.