CAREI Evaluation Services

Our Philosophy

We know education is about people. Learners enter the classroom from different backgrounds, and so do their teachers. We recognize that we all have strengths, skills, limitations, and challenges that make us all unique. This is what makes the educational enterprise so complex.

Improving learning and teaching is our greatest concern. The methods we use to understand and assess educational settings draw from rich research traditions across the social sciences. We believe that information from many sources and methods leads to the greatest understanding. Our findings are rarely summarized by a set of numbers, but rather are placed in context with interpretation and synthesis.

We recognize the complexity and importance of education.  Our principal investigators have received PhDs in their fields:  Educational Policy and Administration, Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Psychology, Psychology, or Organizational Leadership and Professional Development. Over half have taught in K-12 schools. We believe that our backgrounds and our connection to an urban, Research One university -the University of Minnesota - gives us a breadth and depth of understanding of educational context that is unparalleled.

Our Approach

Each project is tailored to the specific needs of the client and the program, context, or policy involved. Below are elements shared by many of our projects:

• Collaborative evaluation planning
• Development of logic models
• Quantitative and qualitative analysis
• Statistical data analysis
• Formative and summative assessments
• Survey design and implementation
• Focus group design and implementation
• Final reports, summaries, and/or recommendations

For examples of CAREI's work, browse the Publications page by subject, grade level, or policy topic.

Contact Us

To learn more about what CAREI can offer for your organization, contact Danielle Proulx at dproulx@umn.edu or 612-625-7240.