Systemic change and standards-based reform: An historical policy analysis of educational policy formation in New Jersey

This dissertation combined elements from history and educational policy analysis to study the development of the Core Curriculum Standards policy in New Jersey adopted in 1996. The study explored how the policy came to be considered an important idea on the educational agenda by key state leaders and traced the major decision points made by policymakers as they shaped the reform. The context for the development of the standards policy was established by reviewing the pertinent literature regarding the standards movement and school restructuring efforts. In addition, the legal aspects that fueled the policy through the Abbott v Burke Supreme Court decisions were described---specifically the link of the standards to the state funding proposal.; Primary source materials from the archives of the New Jersey Department of Education were used to construct the history of the development of the standards policy. Hundreds of documents were reviewed, including confidential memos about policy discussions, State Board papers, and status reports about the progress of the initiative. The analysis also included relevant newspaper accounts and secondary sources to identify what was happening nationally in education reform, to review the research about standards, and to understand the capacity of states to sustain educational reform.; The development of the standards policy was comprehensive and complex. The leadership of the Governor and the state Commissioner of Education was significant in placing the standards on the policy agenda, developing a plan to create the standards, and investing the time and effort in shepherding the standards to adoption by the State Board and enactment in the Comprehensive Educational Improvement and Financing Act. It was also apparent that the administration's link of the standards to the school funding solution assisted in moving both policies forward. Despite the success of the Governor and the Commissioner in the policy arena, the quality of the final product was questioned by external sources. Several studies rated the 1996 standards general and vague, though state leaders described them as world class and of sufficient quality to place New Jersey in the forefront of education. Many of the other policy ideas that supported the standards were also reviewed in the dissertation, including the statewide assessment system, high school graduation requirements, and professional development for teachers.