Education First delivers research and analysis that help organizations ask the right questions, probe the root causes of problems, understand the perspectives of stakeholders and experts, benchmark against other organizations and identify the right solutions for their unique context. Our approach, informed by our experience as educators and school leaders and our extensive knowledge of the preschool-through-postsecondary landscape, is practical and action-oriented. Whether we’re designing a new program strategy or recommending change to an existing system, we help state education agencies, school districts, policymakers, funders and others get to the heart of the problem they want to address with quality research, honest feedback and meaningful recommendations for action. Education First:
Produces purpose-driven landscape scans, literature reviews, policy analyses and mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) research
Designs advanced research studies and research-to-practice partnerships
Synthesizes and analyzes lessons and insights from the field to inform decisionmaking
Leads learning and evaluation projects to measure, monitor, evaluate and continuously improve
Conducts interviews, surveys and focus groups of stakeholders with methods including equity-driven empathy research and centering the perspectives of those closest to the problem
Research for Action Experts
Education First is a seasoned team of trusted advisors to the leaders responsible for delivering what many Americans want most: public education that effectively prepares all students for success in college, careers and a world of constant change.
California has made an historic investment to expand high-quality, equitable universal prekindergarten. The Heising-Simons Foundation commissioned Education First to identify the highest-impact opportunities for philanthropy to support state implementation over the next 2-3 years and recommend next steps for funders.
We assisted Eskolta School Research and Design in determining how to expand its work with nontraditional and alternative schools to other cities on the East Coast. Using our research on those cities and a literature review of successful expansion strategies, Eskolta now operates in Boston and Washington, D.C. as well as New York.
We helped convene, facilitate and coordinate the Sobrato Family Foundation’s “Policy Partners” coalition, comprised of seven dual language learner (DLL) and English learner (EL) advocacy organizations advancing language acquisition policies and practices in California.
The Walton Family Foundation asked Education First to research the current summative testing landscape and identify and propose promising innovations to inform next-generation assessment and accountability system designs.