The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among New York State school board member attitudes toward components of school board governance and their sense of effectiveness in high and low math academic achievement districts in New York State. The study examined board members' perceptions of their actual practices in policy orientation, structured decision making, financial planning, financial management, financial analysis, academic assessment, teamwork, and board development. The study also investigated the difference in attitudes toward components of school board governance and sense of effectiveness of school board members in high and low achieving New York State districts for eighth grade mathematics. The study further examined the relationships among school board members' attitudes toward governance practices and their gender, race, age, years of board experience, and their sense of effectiveness. School board members were also divided into high and low achieving New York State districts for eighth grade mathematics to determine if any relationships predict a sense of effectiveness or district status. Participants in this study were 184 elected New York State suburban school board members who responded to a survey instrument (Appendix B) adapted from a Dowling College survey previously used to research school board governance. The survey consisted of two parts, the first of which asked the participants to reveal demographic information. The second part consisted of 76 items pertaining to components of school board governance and board effectiveness, and a five-point Likert scale was used to measure school board members' attitudes toward each item. The original 76 survey items were reduced to 69 items that comprised seven factors: teamwork, academic assessment, board development, financial planning, board responsibilities, financial management, and board effectiveness. Eight hundred and nineteen school board members representing 120 school districts were contacted by mail and invited to participate in the study. One hundred and eighty-five usable surveys were returned, 72 from low achieving school districts, and 112 from high achieving school districts in eighth grade mathematics. The results of this study verify school board governance research that emphasized the need for school board members to engage in teamwork, financial planning, board responsibility, and academic assessment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]