Empirical Education’s participation in the ARRA funding is focused on providing state and local education agencies with the means to develop capacities for data analysis and evidence-based continuous improvement. We believe that the stimulus funds are an opportunity for agencies to put in place capabilities that will retain value long after these short term funds have been spent. Empirical Education also collaborates with partners such as data warehouse and testing companies and other vendors to build these capacities.
For School Districts
Helping Districts Build Data Analysis Capacity for Continuous Improvement
Districts can use stimulus funds to empower their research and evaluation departments to answer important questions about student achievement, school performance, and the effectiveness of instructional and professional development programs. Continuous improvement driven by local evidence is a practice highly steeped in the principles and spirit of the ARRA. By investing in capacity building over the next two years, this practice can be maintained at an affordable level.
Empirical Education offers to school districts a set of outsourced tools and services called MeasureResults™. MeasureResults makes it easy to design comparisons and conduct the sophisticated statistical computations needed to:
- Identify the most successful schools—Contrary to common belief, the most successful schools are not always the highest scoring.
- Identify trends in achievement—are gaps between subgroups growing or shrinking?
- Evaluate new programs for the impact on student achievement—Generate evidence of the program impact on your local population.
The addition of these capabilities empowers current research and instructional district staff, eliminating the need to hire additional statistical or research analysts.
Empirical Education conducts rigorous program evaluations for clients around the country. But rather than serving as an external evaluator for school districts, Empirical Education is committed to building the district’s own research and evaluation capacity. This approach qualifies the services under many of the ARRA funding streams.
For State Organizations
Providing Design and Analysis Tools for State Longitudinal Data Systems
The ARRA calls for improvements in state data systems, accelerating the pace of their implementation. But having the data warehouse in place is only the starting point for generating value from the investment. Empirical Education is here to build capacity within the state department of education to convert data into actionable evidence. By empowering existing research and analysis staff with tools that support the formulation of research questions and provide outsourced analytic tools, many critical questions can be addressed inexpensively and in a timely manner.
Empirical Education offers to school districts a set of outsourced tools and services called MeasureResults™. MeasureResults makes it easy to design comparisons and conduct the sophisticated statistical computations needed to:
- Identify the schools and districts that are exceeding expectations.
- Identify the greatest challenges in student achievement—Analyze trends to determine if gaps between subgroups are growing or shrinking.
- Evaluate new programs for the impact on student achievement—Generate evidence of the impact of a program on state population.
The initial investment is in setup—professional development and technical; however, the ongoing cost is low. Thus, it fits within the scope of the one-time stimulus funds going into LDSs, educational technology, and any other funding stream that offers systemic reform as a valid expense or that calls for accountability for results.
Additional observations and opinions about the stimulus funds are on our website at:
http://www.empiricaleducation.com/evidence.php#march09
http://www.empiricaleducation.com/evidence.php#jan09
Empirical Education also helps publishers customize and provide product evaluation services for customers. To learn more, click here.