Better Information for Better Decisions

CREDO helps organizations obtain reliable, useful information on the impact of education reform programs and policies – a complex endeavor that requires expertise in study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. We regularly work with state departments of education to structure research and evaluations for new programs and for existing ones – charter schools in particular. We also advise legislative staff and members of Congress on program performance and accountability. Foundations often seek our help in assessing the initiatives that they sponsor.

While most of our studies focus on rigorous analysis of the effect of education programs on student achievement, we also help clients evaluate and manage their programs. We have a special interest in improving ways to measure school quality and impact. To that end, we are creating new metrics for evaluating school performance and for testing the validity and reliability of new approaches.

Applying our expertise, we provide valuable insights about the creation or improvement of systems for evaluating areas such as:

• Accountability policies
• Student reward and incentive programs
• New hiring and/or retention practices
• New professional development impacts
• Changes in the school calendar
• Changes in financial incentives
• New school models (charter, initiative, magnet, etc.)