As used in this act:
a. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Education;
b. "Effective school plan" means the three-year plan designed to improve the performance of students in a schooL. Among the objectives which might be addressed in a typical plan are improvement of classroom and school environments, maximization and effective use of learning time, strengthening the sense of school community, increasing the rate of attendance, and the establishment of high expectations for student achievement;
c. "Effective schools research" means that professionally recognized body of educational research which seeks to identify explicitly the characteristics of schools and classrooms which positively affect student performance.