Research
We engage in regular cycles of research to maximize the effectiveness of the tools, solutions, and programs you rely on for school improvement.
Foundational research
Cognia’s work starts with extensive research on effective teaching and learning strategies, assessment methods, and school improvement practices. Our research-based Performance Standards reflect current, rigorous research and provide the foundation for the multitude of tools and solutions we provide.
Research Brief: Cognia Accreditation
Cognia’s research-based and practice-informed accreditation process accelerates institutional improvement by emphasizing self-reflection, evidence-gathering, collective ownership, and a growth mindset.
Research Brief: Cognia Assessments
Educational assessments play a pivotal role in understanding learner needs, progress, and outcomes. Cognia’s assessments integrate research, industry standards, and best practices to deliver on intended uses and yield meaningful results.
Research Brief: Cognia's Continuous Improvement Framework
All schools can improve, just as all learners strive to reach their full potential. Cognia supports and facilitates school improvement through its research-based continuous improvement framework.
Research Paper: Cognia Performance Standards
Cognia’s Standards serve as the foundation for all of our work. They are both rooted in rigorous research and informed by practice and experience. This paper examines the research underpinning our Standards.
Formative research
Cognia believes that research should lead to action. We conduct pilot and field testing, develop data-centered case studies about our member institutions, and perform other qualitative and quantitative research to ensure our products and services meet your needs.
Instrument Showcase: Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool
What is measured, improves. This well-known saying applies to school improvement by encouraging schools to measure what matters and use their data to continuously improve.
Instrument Showcase: Teacher Observation Tool
Educators can more effectively impact learning when regularly and intentionally using formative feedback regarding their behaviors, actions, and dispositions in the classroom.
Key Findings on Effectiveness: Third-party Evaluation of Diagnostic Reviews
Johns Hopkins University conducted a third-party evaluation of Cognia’s Diagnostic Reviews to examine their effectiveness as a school improvement tool, reveal areas of promise, and identify opportunities for growth. Key findings can be found below or download the full evaluation.
Key Findings on Implementation and Outcomes: Strategic Thinking and Planning
Research Study on Diagnostic Reviews: Comparison of Identified Schools
A quasi-experimental study of “persistently low-achieving” schools in Kentucky shows increases in school performance following Cognia Diagnostic Reviews, thereby demonstrating significant positive effects and providing Tier II (i.e., moderate) evidence under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).