Hanover partners with a diverse collection of independent schools and local, regional, and state education agencies that span 36 states and the District of Columbia. When analyzing our body of research from 2014, we delved into the different research requests received to identify not only broad themes across the major priority areas of Instructional Integrity, Resource Management, Student Success, and Stakeholder Engagement, but also the top research topics within these themes.
In 2014, the majority of our projects called for best practices research, while interest in surveys, in-depth interviews, and data analyses continued to grow. Increases in primary research was fueled by an uptick in school climate survey requests, while the rise of data analysis projects occurred in tandem with our focus on program evaluation, as the majority of these projects require the analysis of student outcomes data provided by the school or district.
Looking ahead to 2015, we plan to further develop our primary research and data analysis services and anticipate fielding a larger volume of requests for the following methodologies:
- In-depth interviews intended to gain insight into the practices of peer and best practice school districts around topics such as professional development, teacher leadership, turnaround school strategies, student wellness services, and accelerated learning models.
- Predictive analytics for identifying at-risk student populations or determining academic indicators strongly aligned with college and career readiness.
Hanover will continue to provide support to K-12 administrators as they address these needs and explore new areas of focus. Contact info@hanoverresearch.com to learn how Hanover’s research services can further your school or district initiatives.