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NORC at the University Chicago
NORC’s researchers, subject matter experts, and technical assistance providers support a wide variety of efforts to make education more equitable.

Structural inequities in the educational system prevent many students from receiving a high-quality education. Educational equity, by contrast, seeks to ensure that all students receive the support they need to achieve their full potential in school and in life, regardless of their background. 

In collaboration with our partners, NORC’s equity content experts, research scientists, evaluators, and technical assistance providers use a development and implementation process to inform efforts to address and eliminate inequities. NORC’s culturally responsive conceptual framing for co-creation and co-design is at the heart of this customized equity work.  

NORC has provided research, evaluation, and technical assistance services for a variety of federally, state, and foundation-supported education equity projects. With a grant from the Spencer Foundation, NORC co-leads a research collaborative to improve educational policies and practices and develop a research agenda that is responsive to the strengths and needs of migrant and seasonal farmworker families. We are also working with the Colorado Department of Education to expand equitable and innovative measures to assess professional competencies for initial teacher licensure. In addition, NORC is examining the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative, a collaborative of 26 Illinois colleges and universities, to understand how they are implementing organizational change to better support Black and Latinx students.

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Educational Equity Experts

Highlighted Projects

Supporting the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative

Using a facilitated collaborative to improve racial equity in higher-education organizations

Client:

William T. Grant Foundation

School Effectiveness in Indiana Study

Examining what works for the state’s public, private, and charter schools

Client:

University of Notre Dame; University of Kentucky

Advancing Research & Communications in STEM

Raising the nation’s learning curve on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

Client:

National Science Foundation

College Mentoring Programs Evaluation

Assessing ways to increase college completion rates for historically underserved students

Client:

ECMC Foundation

Bottom Line 2019 Follow-up Survey

Assessing a guidance and mentoring program for low-income college students of color

Client:

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Gates Foundation Postsecondary Success Strategy Dashboard

A data tool to predict the effectiveness of the foundation’s postsecondary educational equity work

Client:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Pre-K Developmental Loss from COVID-19 Closures

Examining preschoolers’ cognitive and social skills during the pandemic

Client:

University of Colorado, Denver

Surveys of Chicago Parents About Schooling in the Pandemic

Surveying Chicago parents about their child’s learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Client:

Kids First Chicago

Tribal Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) 2.0 Evaluation

A culturally responsive evaluation of tribal career pathways programs

Client:

Administration for Children and Families

Combatting Pandemic Learning Loss

Providing data-driven insights to reduce COVID’s impact on STEM learning

Client:

National Science Foundation

Curriculum & Learning Improvement Project Consortium

A data ecosystem supporting middle school math instruction for historically marginalized students

Client:

Gates Foundation

Farm and Food Workers Relief Initiative

Distributing more than 88,000 COVID relief payments to farmworkers affected by the pandemic

Client:

National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association

American Economic Association Climate Study

Understanding the experience of women and minorities in the economics profession

Client:

American Economic Association

Walden University Diversity and Inclusion Climate Survey

Supporting the online university’s efforts to ensure a strong culture of diversity and inclusion

Client:

Walden University Diversity and Inclusion Working Group

American Finance Association Climate Study

Exploring the working environment in the finance profession, with a focus on equity

Client:

American Finance Association

NORC-Rainin Foundation Early Childhood Collaboration

Supporting programs to improve the education of Oakland children from birth to third grade

Client:

Kenneth Rainin Foundation

Examining Gendered Differences in STEM Persistence

Using ESM to help understand women’s attrition from STEM majors and careers

Funder:

National Science Foundation

Oakland Promise Kindergarten to College Evaluation

Assessing efforts to promote a college-going culture among young students and their parents

Client:

Oakland Promise

Oakland Promise Brilliant Baby Evaluation

Assessing the impact of a “two-generation” intervention on college attainment

Client:

Oakland Promise

Assessing Distance Learning for the Bureau of Indian Education

Understanding how best to reach and teach students who lack broadband service

Client:

Bureau of Indian Education

‘Closer to Home’ and ‘A Path to Equity’

Exploring the impact of more equitable access to pre-k on student outcomes

Client:

Institute of Education Sciences

Administrators’ Views on Campus Life, Diversity, and Politics

A survey finds college administrators are overwhelmingly liberal, even more so than faculty

Client:

American Enterprise Institute

The Abecedarian Project at Midlife

Following up on groundbreaking research about early childhood intervention

Client:

University of Chicago

From the Classroom to the Lab and Back

Teaching preschoolers math fundamentals to enhance later learning

Funder:

McCormick Foundation

Kindergarten Readiness Indicators

Measuring early literacy and numeracy skills for pre-K children

Client:

Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, Welborn Baptist Foundation

Evaluating Oakland Promise’s Cradle-to-Career Programs

NORC’s assessments enable Oakland program to identify past benefits for future funding

Client:

Oakland Promise

Minnesota Reading Corps Pre-K Program Evaluation

Demonstrating that AmeriCorps volunteer tutors can improve preschoolers’ literacy

Client:

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

Minnesota Reading Corps K-3 Impact Evaluation

NORC finds tutoring by AmeriCorps volunteers brought benefits to most young students

Client:

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

Career Trajectories of STEM Doctoral Students

Studying STEM PhD students’ career trajectories using culturally responsive measures and methods

Client:

National Science Foundation

The College-to-Career Transition in the Chicago Area

Exploring student progress from higher ed to the working world, especially for low-income students

Client:

Circle of Service, CME, Crown Family Philanthropies, Gorter, Family Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, The Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, Steans Family Foundation, and Pritzker Traubert Foundation

Equity & Place: A Rural Education Research Agenda

Shining a light on equity challenges and innovative solutions in rural schools and communities

Client:

Spencer Foundation

Improving Racial Equity in Higher Education Organizations

How the use of a facilitated collaborative affects racial equity in colleges

Client:

William T. Grant Foundation