In 2020, MI received a 5-year contract to evaluate New York State’s four bilingual education programs: the Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (R-BERN), the Intensive Teacher Institutes (CR-ITI), the Bridges Project, and the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PR/HYLI). The evaluation is designed to: 1) ensure that each program meets the requirements and quality standards outlined in their approved contracts or grants; 2) assess the impact of these programs on meeting the needs of English Language Learners in New York State; 3) use information as a basis for renewal of existing programs or the creation of new ones based on the availability of funds; and 4) to report progress and make suggestions/recommendations to improve the quality of these programs. Project activities include the development and maintenance of data warehouse; surveys, focus groups and individual and telephone interviews of program providers and service recipients; site visits and observations; and development of a Best Practices Program Assessment Instrument individualized to each of the four programs.

Description coming soon.

MI was awarded a seven-year contract to evaluate the Duval County (Florida) Public Schools’ GEAR UP initiative. The intent of the GEAR UP Initiative—Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs—is to significantly increase the number of at-risk students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Using a quasi-experimental design (Retrospective Comparison Cohort [RCC]), MI will examine the impacts of the GEAR UP interventions on student outcomes: academic achievement, postsecondary preparation and college persistence. A noteworthy feature of this project is an online database that captures individual student participation, demographic, and school-level data.

MI was awarded a 7-year contract to evaluate New York State’s GEAR UP initiative—which is our third such statewide award. The GEAR UP Initiative aims to significantly increase the number of at-risk students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Using a quasi-experimental design, MI is examining the impacts of the GEAR UP interventions on student outcomes by following a cohort of students from Grade 7 through the 1st year of college. Inferential and multivariate analyses will be conducted to examine differential program effects on the annual and longitudinal academic/performance trends of project students vs. comparison students. MI is also coordinating the collection and analyses of site-level data for federal Annual Performance Reports (APR) and biennial reports.

Description coming soon.

MI was awarded a three-year evaluation contract to study Illinois charter schools, made possible through a combination of federal and state funds. In Year 1, we conducted a case study of two charter schools that had been awarded state dissemination grants, following them and their non-charter partners through all phases of the dissemination process. The findings were submitted in a report to ISBE. In Year 2, the focus of our work shifted to identify general features of charter schools at large and the effects of mandate relief on policies and outcomes. Through principal surveys and site visits, we will investigate whether high performing charter schools differ in policies and practices from other charter schools. In Year 3, we will facilitate a sharing of innovations/best practices in the charter school community through monthly web-based presentations. The culminating product will be a compendium of these best practices which we will submit to ISBE for posting and dissemination.

In early 2019, MI was awarded a contract to provide two related, yet distinct, research services: 1) the external evaluation of the district’s Teacher and School Leader (TSL) grant awarded by the USDE, and 2) research coordination services to support the evaluation work and to conduct and report the findings of related research to the USDE. The former calls for formative and summative evaluation methods to assess the implementation of the project – the development and operation of a human capital management system (HCMS) that leads to improved selection/recruitment of instructional staff, instructional practices, professional development and performance rewards. The latter focuses on the facilitation of communication between evaluation and district staff; creation of a project communication plan; development of multi-media products to share the results of research; and creation of articles and white papers that disseminate the findings of the project.

In 2020, MI was awarded a five-year contract to evaluate Project Prevent, a federally-funded SAMHSA grant designed to “to help schools with pervasive violence in their communities to better address the needs of affected students and to break the cycle of violence.” It is being implemented in five CREC magnet schools and follows an MTSS model of intervention. Services are provided by external partners and tailored to the needs of each school. MI’s methodology will include needs assessment, gap analyses and document review to inform the development of data collection tools to capture key outcomes for internal evaluation and federal reporting. Where necessary, MI will train project staff in data documentation and regularly monitor data accuracy and quality. MI will also gauge the quality of professional development and stakeholder perceptions of the interventions through surveys and interviews. These findings will be fed-back to project leaders on a formative and summative basis to facilitate mid-course corrections and progress monitoring. Other deliverables will include an annual evaluation report to be disseminated to stakeholders and assistance in the completion of the federal Annual Performance Report. At the end of the five years, we expect to provide the client with robust guidance for continuing internal evaluation vis-a-vis the project’s sustainability plan.

In 2019, MI was awarded a one-year contract to conduct an independent evaluation of the final year of a four-year SAMHSA System of Care Expansion (SOC) grant. The goals of the project are to employ a comprehensive planning process that includes youth, families, and a broad-base of services providers, increase coordination and reduce duplication of mental health and related recovery support services across the county, and improve behavioral health outcomes for children and youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) and/or Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and their families. MI’s overall evaluation assesses the project’s impact on youth and on the larger System of Care in Rockland County. To accomplish this, we have developed a program logic model, designed and administered training surveys, established a monthly evaluation committee, analyzed data from case records, and provided quarterly reports on progress towards goals and outcomes. We have also facilitated the collection of federally-required National Outcomes Measures (NOMS) data and Infrastructure Development, Prevention and Mental Health Promotion (IPP), and entered both into the SAMHSA database (SPARS).

Since 2013, MI has conducted West Virginia’s statewide parent involvement survey. The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDOE) uses two forms of the National Center for Special Education Accountability and Monitoring surveys for statewide data collection, one for parents of preschool children and the other for parents of school age children (Kindergarten through 21 year olds). WVDOE reports these data as part of the IDEA requirements to measure parent involvement. MI provides WVDOE with aggregate and disaggregate data as needed for Annual Performance Reports (APR) as well as district reports.

Since 2011, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has contracted with MI to conduct an annual statewide survey of parents whose children received special education services. In each year of the study, a sample of 60,000 parents was/is selected to complete a survey about the quality of special education services in the state and the effectiveness of their districts/schools in facilitating their involvement in their child’s program/services. To carry out the study, MI designed an identification coding system to link the individual survey data to existing student demographic data being collected by the ISBE, while still allowing parents to complete the survey anonymously. MI developed scannable survey forms in both English and Spanish, as well as an online survey option. In 2011, MI received a second contract to continue administering the Illinois annual parent survey through 2016-2017. That contract also included a data analysis component, and annual reports prepared for and distributed to all Illinois school districts in the sample. MI received a 3rd contract to continue this work from 2018 – 2022.

MI was awarded a 5-year contract to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Iowa’s State Personnel Development Grant, which focuses on Specially Designed Instruction to support literacy for students with disabilities. The evaluation is being conducted in close collaboration with the Iowa Department of Education to support program development, refinement, and expansion, as implementation of a train-the-trainer model transitions from a small group of pilot schools to statewide implementation. The evaluation is designed to: 1) provide ongoing data to inform stakeholders and support decision making; 2) allow for midcourse corrections and continuous improvement; 3) provide communication to federal, state, and local stakeholders to support scaling up and sustainability; and 4) assess the degree of systems changes resulting from the grant activities, services, and practices.

Description coming soon.

In 2017, MI was selected to conduct an independent evaluation of Pitt County Schools’ Teacher Incentive Fund project. This 5-year study focuses on the design and implementation of a district-wide human capital management system to coordinate and align the functions of teacher recruitment, induction, evaluation, professional development and incentives across all schools in the district. Of particular interest is the roll-out of teacher pathways to leadership positions, the model of professional development used to support more advanced practice, and the impact of the model on teaching skills and student learning.

In 2017, MI was awarded a 5-year contract to conduct the external evaluation of New York State’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, which focuses primarily on children who attend high poverty and low-performing schools, and provides expanded learning opportunities for academic enrichment, youth development, and family literacy to help students meet the state academic standards. MI is evaluating NYSED’s achievement of objectives related to statewide improvements in participating students’ academic performance and behavior, the effectiveness of 21st CCLC Resource Centers (professional development and technical assistance activities), and the performance of local 21st CCLC programs in New York City and across NY State. In addition, MI is reviewing and assessing the quality and completeness of local, program-level, annual evaluation reports; guiding NYSED in its transition to state-level data collection system; and supporting local program evaluators to help improve the quality and consistency of local program evaluation throughout the state.

MI is conducting a 5-year evaluation of the implementation and impact of a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant at the Jose DeDiego Middle School in the Wynwood section of Miami. The Center will offer: afterschool academic tutoring in math, science, and language arts; cultural and art activities; career exploration; and recreational programs. MI will conduct formative and summative evaluation activities designed to provide continuous feedback to project leaders on the roll-out of the program and its impact on student outcomes including school behavior, attendance, grades, and test scores.