Program Evaluation & Research

Program evaluation and research play a vital role in helping policymakers, funders, and education leaders understand the impacts that specific education programs or policies have on children and the adults who serve them. APA has been a leader in providing customized and tailored services that: 

  • document the impacts of a particular education program or policy; 

  • study how education programs are implemented to understand how a program or policy might be improved and made more consistent over time;

  • identify the costs and benefits of implementing a program, including any potential return on investment (ROI); and

  • review research and policy landscapes to help policymakers understand the challenges facing key public education sectors and to learn from best practices identified across the country. 

APA’s approach to research and evaluation is to provide clients with advice and insights informed by over two decades of experience working with clients at all levels of the education system (early childhood education, K-12, and higher education) and all levels of decision-making (local, state, and national) in every region of the country.  We specialize in creating tailored evaluation and research plans through close collaboration with each client, and we have conducted such studies successfully at all levels of rigor based on each client’s need. This includes qualitative case study designs, legislative and policy reviews, research reviews, quasi-experimental studies that use statistical research techniques to study program impacts on students, and randomized controlled trial studies suitable for publication nationally in the federal What Works Clearinghouse.

Our staff are also trained in using federally approved research techniques to add cost-benefit and ROI analysis to any study we design. 

Primary Contact

Dale DeCesare
dmd@apaconsulting.net | 720-227-0089

Areas of Expertise

  • Deep content area knowledge: teacher mentoring, tutoring, early childhood education, career and technical education, teacher retention, teacher workforce, transportation, rural schools, gifted and talented education, early literacy, social-emotional development, community schools, and more.

  • Program implementation monitoring and analysis;

  • Cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and return on investment (ROI) analysis using a nationally recognized, ingredients-based approach.

  • Impact studies: quasi-experimental (propensity score matching, interrupted time series, regression discontinuity); and randomized controlled trial studies (RCT), considered the “gold standard” in education research;

  • Qualitative data collection: interviews, focus groups, panel discussions, literature reviews, and case studies;

  • Survey development and analysis:

  • Statistical analysis;

  • Literature, legal, and regulatory review; and

  • Descriptive research and policy studies.

Example Projects

Meet the Team

  • Dale DeCesare

    Dale DeCesare

    Co-CEO

  • Dr. Robert Reichardt

    Dr. Robert Reichardt

    Senior Associate

  • Brianna McGagin

    Brianna McGagin

    Associate

  • Amanda Brown

    Amanda Brown

    Vice President

  • Michaela Tonking

    Michaela Tonking

    Senior Associate

  • Jennifer Piscatelli

    Jennifer Piscatelli

    Senior Associate