Because of its own concern about the effectiveness of public education in New Brunswick and in response to a similar concern expressed by different community groups, the New Brunswick Board of Education engaged the Institute of Field Studies of Teachers College, Columbia University to study its educational system and directed it to examine the following educational areas: (1) The general nature and quality of education in New Brunswick's public schools. (2) The educational process and its effectiveness in meeting the educational objectives as defined by the school system and its communities. (3) The effectiveness of current innovative and experimental efforts in raising the quality of student life and achievement. (4) The appropriateness of existing educational programs as they relate to the specific needs of black and Puerto Rican students. (5) The educational development of ethnic minorities within the New Brunswick school system. (6) Human relations within the schools and the educational environment. (7) Changes in the school system that may provide a basis from which the educational needs of Black and Puerto Rican students can be more effectively met. There were several methodological aspects of the study. All of them had some relationship to either data collection, instrumentation, sample selection, or data treatment and presentation. (Author/JM)