The CREA team works with schools and districts in the state of Nevada and beyond, helping them assess and evaluate programs and initiatives designed to improve education. Here are a few current and past projects.
In collaboration with the Nevada Department of Education, CREA identified “pockets of excellence” in the state of Nevada, defined as schools experiencing marked growth in improving Black student achievement on the state’s standardized exams. We then conducted in-depth interviews with principals from 10 of those schools to understand evidence-based practices leveraged by school leaders to help improve Black student achievement.
CREA supports the Nevada Department of Education initiative, in partnership with Ed.Xtraordinary, Portrait of a Nevada Learner pilot program. School communities across Nevada begin to explore, align, and evolve best practices for learner-centered experiences, using the Portrait of a Nevada Learner as a roadmap.
CREA provides evaluation services for the Nevada Department of Education’s evaluation of Nevada’s new education funding plan, the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan. The new plan collapses categorical funding programs (SB 178, Zoom, Victory, RBG3) into a weighted per-pupil funding formula.
CREA provides evaluation services for the U.S. Department of Education-funded Futuro Project. In collaboration with scholars from Nevada State College, this research project efforts to provide evidence-based recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills, including increasing understanding of early childhood classrooms and teaching practices and improving the school readiness of EL children.
CREA provides evaluation services for the National Science Foundation-funded research project, Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions. In collaboration with scholars from UNLV and the College of Southern Nevada, the research project endeavors to enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education and increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate’s or baccalaureate degrees in STEM.