We Conduct Evaluations

At the heart of our evaluation work is the desire to understand the impacts that public investments and large-scale education reforms have on students, educators, and institutions. We assess in real-time how our K-12 and higher education structures are working or not working, and for whom (through developmental evaluation) and we seek to understand the overall impacts of projects or initiatives (through summative evaluation).

Our evaluations draw from qualitative and quantitative data, and they range from assessments of student success programs at public institutions to system-wide higher education reforms. In all cases, we partner with the public education systems and institutions to interpret findings and suggest solutions for improving policy and academic practice.

Our Evaluation Team

Breaunna Alexander

Breaunna Alexander

Research Manager

Sukai Kato-Hopkins

Sukai Kato-Hopkins

Research Associate

Jaquelyn Caro-Sena

Jaquelyn Caro-Sena

Research Associate III

Madeleine R. Kerrick

Madeleine R. Kerrick

Interim Executive Director

Jeanine Cunningham

Jeanine Cunningham

Research Manager

Jasmine Nguyen

Jasmine Nguyen

Research Associate II

Rebecca Woolston

Rebecca Woolston

Research Associate

Leslie Dunnigan

Leslie Dunnigan

Research Assistant

Ben Paquette-Ferguson

Ben Paquette-Ferguson

UX Design Analyst, Research Assistant

Annelise Green

Annelise Green

Research Associate II

Lara Triona

Lara Triona

Research Associate III

 

Our projects focus on issues such as:

INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS: EdInsights is partnering with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in a developmental evaluation of the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative. The main purpose is to support the Chancellor’s Office in continuously improving its professional learning opportunities to meet the ongoing needs of college administrators, faculty, and staff.

COLLEGE STUDENT SUCCESS: At its host campus, Sacramento State, EdInsights worked with colleagues to evaluate student success programs, such as the Full Circle Project (FCP), which supports Asian American and Pacific Islander students through learning communities. Our evaluations have helped FCP identify the impacts of its efforts on student retention, course taking, and graduation, and improve student services.

GUIDED PATHWAYS: In partnership with the Foundation for California Community Colleges and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, EdInsights conducted a developmental evaluation of the rollout, planning, implementation, and early impact of the Colleges’ Guided Pathways framework. As the hallmark reform effort of the California Community Colleges, Guided Pathways seeks to improve student success through the development of structured course-taking patterns and embedded supports.

Our approach is collaborative and iterative:

An infographic showing the Evaluation process within EdInsights

 

While most of our evaluation reports are confidential, we share a public report on the Full Circle Project evaluation and findings that have broad implications for public policy or education practice in California.

We published a series of briefs to revisit findings from a group of community colleges’ efforts to redesign career education (CE) programs to better prepare students for shifting regional workforce needs. The first brief was published in September, 2020, parts two and three were published in October and November respectively. They are available to read and share.

The California Community Colleges provide education and training to diverse student populations for a variety of purposes, including to prepare them for careers in today’s workforce. CE programs are aimed at helping students find meaningful jobs and careers with family-supporting wages, aligning curriculum with industry needs, encouraging timely completion, and providing students with work-based learning opportunities. Click here to learn what students describe as most helpful in contributing to their success. 

Learning from the experiences of faculty, staff, and administrators can help colleges prepare for barriers and avoid pitfalls while redesigning their career education (CE) programs to better meet students’ needs. Their perspectives are also relevant in the context of current efforts by the U.S. Department of Education to issue grants meant to expand short-term and work-based learning programs to address workforce needs and to revitalize the economy. This brief focuses on what college personnel describe as barriers to designing and implementing programs with features that students find helpful, as described in the first brief of this series (e.g., cohorts, consistent course schedules, work-based learning opportunities). Click here to learn more about reforms to CE programs from the perspective of college personnel.

EdInsights offers policy recommendations to strengthen workforce development to better serve students, communities, and regional economies. In this brief, we outline steps the state and the California Community Colleges (CCC) have taken to address barriers to more effective career education (CE) programs, point to some early signs of progress, and suggest opportunities for further changes to support the success of CE students. Click here to learn how policy can help create a stronger workforce.