Projects

Our current portfolio of projects focuses on education with applied research, evaluation, and policy studies underway in the areas of school improvement, school choice, equity and diversity, teacher quality, and science, mathematics, and technology education.

Examples of recent projects include:

• School Improvement. Five-year applied research study of Success in Sight, an approach to school improvement developed by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL). Includes randomized control trial study with 46 AYP elementary schools. (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
• School Choice. Evaluation of Minnesota’s Voluntary Public School Choice Program, a five-year federally funded program to enhance school choice options in one urban and eleven suburban school districts. Includes over 300 parent interviews each year, analysis of factors related to school choice and student achievement, online school climate surveys with students and staff in the eleven participating school districts. (Minnesota Department of Education)
• Equity and Diversity. Multi-year evaluations of the desegregation initiatives sponsored by multi-district collaboratives in Minnesota. Includes the development of a cross-district accountability system and equitable practices needs assessment for collaboratives involving 10+ school districts. (East Metro Integration District and West Metro Education Program)
• Teacher Quality. Three-year research, evaluation, and policy studies for Minnesota’s federal Teacher Quality Enhancement grant, which includes alternative certification, mentorship program, recruitment and retention in high-needs districts, and a comparison of three teacher compensation models. (Minnesota Department of Education)
• Teacher Quality. Secondary analysis of data from the Longitudinal Evaluation of School Change and Performance (LESCP) to model the influence of teacher learning on student achievement.
• Science. Four-year pilot study to determine the effectiveness of the new NanoLeap nanoscale science curriculum module designed for high school chemistry and physical science students. Funded by the National Science Foundation. (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
• Science. Three-year evaluation of a new post-secondary curriculum to train first responders in the use of the latest technology. Funded by the National Science Foundation. (Century College)