EdSource staff began participating in major collaborative multiinstitutional research projects in the late 1990s. We were invited by the American Institutes for Research to be on the team that conducted a four-year, state-funded evaluation of California's Class Size Reduction program.

In the ensuing years, we have served as prime contractor and project director for various other research projects. EdSource brings strong project management, connections to the field, and a deep understanding of California education policy and data to these research projects. Our strengths are augmented by the deep subject matter and technical analysis expertise of our Ph.D. colleagues from universities and nonprofit research firms. We expect these types of studies to remain an important part of our work and of how we add value in the years to come.

Similar Students, Different Results Study

In 2003, EdSource was offered the opportunity to organize an original research project with the goal of determining the school practices and policies that differentiated the highest- from the lowest-performing elementary schools in California serving students with similar demographic backgrounds. The participating partners were researchers from Stanford University, UC-Berkeley, and American Institutes for Research.

Similar Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? (October 2005 and April 2006)

Based on a large-scale survey of principals and teachers in 257 California elementary schools serving many low-income students, this study identified four interrelated practices associated with higher Academic Performance Index scores and suggested implications for district and principal leadership. Further analysis (April 2006) examined whether a school's API performance related to the use of particular curriculum programs.

Continue reading about original Similar Students Research Study >

Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? (May 2007)

In 2006–07, EdSource undertook an in-depth analysis of the English learner survey questions from the original Similar Students study. The team included Stanford and AIR researchers but was augmented this time with additional EL experts from Stanford and WestEd. Those findings were released in May of 2007.

Continue reading about Similar EL Students study >

School District Financial Management

In 2005, EdSource was invited to organize a very different kind of study, one of the portfolio of more than 20 studies in the Getting Down to Facts project overseen by Stanford University's IRREP Director Susanna Loeb. EdSource, as the prime contractor, partnered with School Services of California to survey California school district chief business officials on matters related to district financial management. Their responses were then compared with indicators of district fiscal health over a period of years. The report was released in March 2007.

 

EdSource Analyses of Charter School Performance

Based on extensive analyses of state performance data for charter and noncharter schools, EdSource provides annual reports on this important topic. The analyses control for student and school characteristics, and they compare elementary, middle, and high schools.

Go to the Charter Schools section for more information >