NIU P-20 Research and Data Collaborative Projects

Our current data and research portfolio includes projects with local school districts, local government agencies, statewide policy, workforce development, and early childhood programming. Below are a few examples of the work currently underway.

• Illinois Preschool Development Grant - Expansion (PDG-E) Evaluation – A comprehensive mixed methodology evaluation of PDG-E programs across Illinois was conducted that included the analysis of student outcomes data as well as surveys, interviews, and focus groups with program staff and stakeholders.

• Illinois Data FIRST Evaluations
  • Early Childhood – NIU researchers used early childhood data sets to complete extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis that measures student outcomes, grant results, and overall community impact.
  • High School-to-College Success – NIU researchers used a wide range of data from the Illinois Longitudinal Data System (ILDS) to analyze student outcomes in secondary and postsecondary environments. Recommendations included those to systemically improve the use of ILDS as well as student success.
• Illinois Board of Higher Education Grow Your Own (GYO) Teacher Evaluation – NIU researchers conducted comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis and included program staff as well as participants to conduct a comprehensive review of the Illinois GYO program and provide recommendations for everything from program processes to instruction.
• Illinois Postsecondary Profiles -Illinois Postseconday Profiles (IPP) provides research and public access to data on postsecondary student success in Illinois. It brings together both a unique data set and innovative approaches to presentation of those data.
• Projects for individual school districts – NIU researchers partner with local school districts to design customized methodologies and data collection instruments and processes, collect data for and with these school districts, analyze data using advanced techniques, and engage in a wide range of reporting – including written evaluation reports, school board presentations, and learning workshops for staff members, students, and parents and community members.
• Projects for individual postsecondary institutions – NIU researchers partner with postsecondary institutions to provide outside evaluation services for existing institutional programs, for a wide range of grants and funded programs, and in conjunction with institutional research departments as well as faculty and staff. Evaluation services are customized in collaboration with postsecondary partners with regards to everything from methodology to surveys, protocols, and other data collection tools and processes.
• Centralized Demographics Dataset Administrator (CDDA) - CDDA broke ground by creating an identity resolution system that allows Illinois state agencies the ability to link data sets despite internally using different identifiers for the same individuals.
• Illinois Report Card (IRC) - The IRC was among the first statewide K-12 data reporting systems in the country and continues to set the standard for visualization of educational data and access to those data nationwide.
• ILDS Governance - The Illinois Longitudinal Data System enabels state agencies to link early childhood, education, and workforce data to answer questions in critical areas of interest.
• Economic Impact Research - Economic impact analyses help local governments and community stakeholders estimate changes in employment and business activity likely to result from a proposed project or policy. This type of analysis may also be used to understand the economic contributions of an existing industry sector, major employer, or institution to areas ranging from a single community to a multi-state region.

Partner With Us – Utilize our expertise and reach out to the P-20 Research and Data Collaborative at p20research@niu.edu, to see how we can support your specific data and research needs.