Research & Survey Approval

  • Evanston Township High School District 202 encourages research that provides a basis for improving school processes and student learning within the district as well as research that contributes to the field of education in the areas of theory and practice. While the district encourages educational research, the need for research and the collection of information is always balanced against the district’s objectives.

    • Research (i.e. surveys, interviews, etc.) must support the school district goals and objectives in order to be approved
    • Research must meet district policy or state and federal laws or regulations

    Per Board policy, surveys and research conducted within the district require prior review and written approval from the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment. This includes surveys and research carried out by school district employees, departments, or committees. 

    Research Agenda

    ETHS seeks to learn more about student experiences and how policies and programs impact student experience and outcomes.  All research requests must align with ETHS’ Mission and Equity Statements. Research should focus on equity and progress towards eliminating the racial predictability of achievement. Results from these studies should help inform district policies, procedures, and practices.

    Research Areas

    The following research areas have been identified as areas of interest and importance to ETHS. 

    Social-Emotional Learning

    1. What social emotional structures or services improve academic motivation or academic performance? SEL services include the delivery of direct services, the use of curriculum and direct instruction of SEL, or embedding and modeling culturally responsive social emotional learning in the classroom.

    2. What are the best practices for implementing social emotional services in a high school, such as delivery of direct services, the use of curriculum and direct instruction of SEL, or embedding and modeling culturally responsive social emotional learning in the classroom?

      1. For example, what are the best practices for evaluating the impact of these types of social emotional services or instructional models?

    Post High School Planning

    1. STEM Education: What are the impacts of STEM education on student performance, post-secondary education decisions, and workforce readiness?

      1. For example, what impacts do specific STEM courses have on college entrance and completion? How have disadvantaged and advantaged students been impacted differently by STEM course taking?

    1. College and Career Ready Students: What impact do institutional structures and programs have on student’s ability college and career readiness?

      1. For example, do dual credit, advanced placement, or transition to college courses increase student retention in and completion of college degrees?

      2. What is the impact of Evanston’s summer youth employment on academic performance, post-secondary plans, and workforce readiness?

      3. What is the impact of work-based experiences on academic outcomes?

    Instructional Strategies and Programs

    1. Instructional Strategies and Programs: What instructional strategies and programs are most successful in improving schools and decreasing achievement disparities at ETHS?

      1. For example, how does instruction support learning in literacy beyond test scores?

      2. How do educators understand disciplinary literacy? What instructional strategies do they use and how do they implement them with fidelity? What is the best way to measure the effectiveness of disciplinary literacy strategies being implemented in the classroom?

     Middle School to High School Transition

    1. High School Readiness: What policies, programs, practices in middle school impact high school readiness?

      1. For example, what institutional barriers are in place that perpetuate disparities in high school readiness between disadvantaged and advantaged student populations?

    To request approval to conduct research or a survey:

    • Submit a written proposal that meets the specifics outlined in the Research & Survey Approval Procedures to the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment for review
    • Submitters may be asked to answer questions about the proposal or to make modifications prior to approval or denial of the request

    For a given school year, research requests will be reviewed through December 15th. After December 15th, all requests will be considered for the following school year. The timeline for approval varies with each proposal.