Impact Analysis Strategies Group IASG

The Impact Analysis and Strategies Group conducts independent, third-party evaluations of academic and youth development programs for children and young people. Our research designs, research instruments, data analyses, and graphics-rich reports help schools, school systems, local and national governmental agencies, and local and national nongovernmental organizations to:

satisfy many evaluation requirements for grants
fulfill many data requirements for accreditation
establish baseline data before choosing or creating new initiatives
determine at regular intervals how well, faithfully, and completely they are implementing current programs and initiatives
reflect on the impact of previous programs and initiatives
plan next steps
create new partnerships that work well from the start
improve existing partnerships so that they work even better

Our research instruments and data analyses produce findings that are broad and deep. There is no upper limit to the number of respondents we can survey at one time, and we offer a wide range of data collection and evaluation instruments:

Learning and Development Inventory
(high school and middle school versions)
After-School Questionnaire
Teaming Inventory
Mentoring Sessions Rating System
Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge Training Evaluation Index
Surveys for Private Religious Schools

Our research instruments can be used and combined in a variety of ways.

Because these instruments have been refined over years of use with thousands of respondents, item-by-item the responses are useful in and of themselves.
IASG's statistical analyses provide a deeper understanding of the responses in easily understandable, graphic form as well as in tables and text.
An even broader picture is available by using the entire suite of IASG's instruments. Taken together, the results give a remarkably comprehensive and clear snapshot of (1) the degree to which a school, school system, agency, intervention program, or partnership is accomplishing its own mission and (2) areas most in need of immediate, mid-range, and long-range attention.
Repeated administration of any or all of IASG's instruments enables a complex and comprehensive portrait to emerge over time of the entire school, school system, agency, intervention program, or partnership. By tracking each essential area of student learning and development, administrators can refine their efforts and discover and resolve obstacles to program success.
Customization of our evaluation instruments is available as an optional service at an additional fee.

Our research is "action- based":
The results are immediately
useful. As cooperatively and unintrusively as possible, we gather comprehensive and accurate information. We interpret it fairly and fully, and clearly communicate both the data and our interpretation in a timely manner. Thus, we both stimulate and support action, and we help clarify for decision makers what that action should be. Our research reports have been of great planning value to schools, youth-serving programs, whole communities, corporate sponsors, schools of education, and government policy makers and executives.

We deliver user-friendly research reports in a timely manner. In general, IASG commits to returning reports within one month of data collection. (Training evaluations are returned within a week.) Click here for examples.

All of our efforts are in the service of children's and young people's optimal outcomes. Over the last ten years, our research results have contributed to the abundant statistically significant evidence that academic learning, social and emotional development, and physical well-being are inextricably related. We focus widely on all these factors in our research—without sacrificing depth. Thus we help educators, mentors, administrators, and community leaders to enhance their capacity to fulfill their most important obligation: ensuring that the children and young people in their charge will grow and develop healthily and well.

Our research meets the highest standards for privacy, confidentiality, and institutional oversight. Confidentiality and privacy of student records are maintained by IASG in accordance with state and federal law. In addition, IASG obtains all necessary approvals from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Southern Connecticut State University.

Click here to read Chapter One of How Social and Emotional Development Add Up: Getting Results in Math and Science Education (Norris M. Haynes, Michael Ben-Avie, & Jacque Ensign, eds., New York: Teachers College Press, 2003).