PreK-12 Schools and Higher Education

Over its 25-year history, REA has designed and conducted numerous studies to assess the implementation and impact of new approaches to teaching and learning in PreK-12 schools and higher education. Our portfolio includes recent, multi-year evaluations of federally-funded efforts to improve both teaching quality and student achievement, while understanding links between implementation and impact. We offer deep expertise in program evaluation and in conducting complex and rigorous research within the PreK-12 policy landscape. Our services deliver:

  • Seamless data collection strategies for participants at all levels, including students, teachers, district- and school-level administrators, parents and caregivers, pre-service teachers, and university faculty.
  • Skillful capacity to evaluate impacts of large-scale educational initiatives on student achievement as well as links between implementation and impact.
  • Efficient assembly of achievement, placement, and retention data with institutional review boards and local- and state-level officials, and awareness of industry standards and differences in institutional policies.

Please browse selected examples of our past projects with PreK-12 schools and higher education clients below, or learn more about our projects specifically focused on Teacher Development and Preparation, Literacy, and Multilingual Learners.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss your project with you and to provide you with more information about our tailored services. Please Contact Us to schedule a free 30-minute Q&A session with a consultant.

Selected Projects Include

  • Appalachian Support for Specialized Education Training (ASSET)

    The Appalachian Support for Specialized Education Training (ASSET) project was funded through the Department of Education’s Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant program and sought to develop and provide high-quality professional development micro-credentials for Appalachian teachers. The REA research team designed and implemented a randomized control trial with more than 600 participants. In addition to the RCT, we gathered formative evaluation data on each micro-credential from a teacher advisory board and early micro-credential completers and studied iterative versions of simulations designed to assess participants’ performance within one of the mathematics micro-credentials.

  • Photo courtesy of NeONBRAND on Unsplash via CC licensing.

    Biotech Partners

    Biotech Partners (BP) is a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for socio-economically and culturally diverse youth in the Bay Area to explore and participate in the biotechnology and bioscience fields. BP’s mission is to mentor underrepresented youth in STEM, and facilitate students’ personal, academic, and professional development experiences with personalized learning support through in-school instruction, laboratory-based instruction, and paid industry internships. Through NSF ITEST funding, we are studying program implementation and stakeholder impacts of BP’s industry internships. In particular, we are exploring the local context of cross-sector partnerships, and the roles and ways bioscience educators and business and industry workforce members motivate students from diverse underrepresented populations to become aware of, interested in, and prepared for careers in the STEM workforce.

  • Photo courtesy of marco antonio torres via CC licensing.

    Multilingual Learner Project

    The Multilingual Learner Project (MLP) was a partnership between the City College of New York and New Visions for Public Schools funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition. The program was designed to allow in-service, content-area high school teachers in New York City to obtain TESOL certification and onsite training and support focused on strengthening connections between school and home. REA’s research focused on investigating the implementation of training program and its influence on teachers’ practice and communication with families, and utilized a quasi-experimental design with matching to estimate program effects on students’ language development and progress toward graduation.

  • Photo courtesy of Tim Farrell, New Visions.

    New Visions Hunter College: Urban Teacher Residency Program

    A 10-year partnership between New Visions for Public Schools, Hunter College, and the New York City Department of Education, the Urban Teacher residency (UTR) program was funded through multiple U.S. Department of Education grants, along with the Mathematics and Science Teacher Education Residency (MASTER), funded by the National Science Foundation. The programs focused on the placement of new secondary teachers in high-needs classrooms in New York City where resident teachers were trained alongside a mentor teacher during a year-long residency. Rockman et al, served as the external evaluator to assess the impact and implementation of training on student performance, teacher practice and school culture.
    Report: 2018 Summative Report for New Visions for Public Schools – Hunter College Urban Teacher Residency Project
  • Photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks via CC licensing.

    Project PLANET

    Project PLANET was a two-year NSF DRK-12 project that explored the integration of science-related storybooks, hands-on investigations, and a planetarium experience to support early elementary aged students in learning astronomy. First and third grade teachers in California and Pennsylvania worked with The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Lawrence Hall of Science, and West Chester University to create two five-day lesson sequences. Our research focused on the opportunities provided for students to explore natural phenomena (i.e., noticing, recognizing change, etc.), and the connections teachers and students made between the curriculum learning sequence (i.e., storybook, hands-on investigations, and the planetarium). Methods included videotaped lessons, student pre-post content surveys, interviews with teachers, and observations of classrooms and professional development sessions.