about the program

WestEd's Evaluation Research Program (ERP) provides policymakers and practitioners with impartial, evidence-based information to improve education and other services. ERP studies cover everything from national school reform to community-based social services.

Staff apply the most rigorous and appropriate social science tools to produce accurate and reliable studies, then communicate findings in a manner that contributes to a better understanding of whether a program is effective, whether a policy is having the desired impact, whether a chosen approach is the most cost-effective way of accomplishing goals, how an effort can be improved, or whether an initiative should be continued.

Program staff, with American Institutes for Research, completed a large-scale, national longitudinal study of the federal Comprehensive School Reform Program. More recently, ERP was selected to evaluate an arts education initiative funded through the federal Investing in Innovation (ie) competition.