Research & Data
PROMOTING DATA-DRIVEN PUBLIC POLICIES
The Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation (CSME) supports the research and evaluation efforts across all of
Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation
The Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation (CSME) supports the research and evaluation efforts across all of
Data-Driven Community Advocacy Tools
CSME designs and disseminates data-based research tools including:
- Annual School Rankings
- School data for parents through TexasSchoolGuide.org
- Early education data and interactive maps
Research & Evaluation
CSME assesses the impact of policies and programs, resulting in evaluations including:
- Nonprofit program evaluation
- Corporate social investment reports
- Community health needs assessments
- Fiscal evaluations
Publications
CSME produces research-oriented publications including:
- Growing Up in Houston
- Growing Up in North Texas
- The Journal of Applied Research on Children
- The Journal of Family Strengths
Our Latest Research & Data Analysis
When Schools Close & Parents Lose Jobs, Kids Go Hungry
Food is one of the most basic needs, yet many families routinely struggle to access it. As of 2017, around 1 in 7 Texans reported experiencing food insecurity. With unemployment rising and many families losing income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this number has...
Educational Equity in the Digital Classroom: It is all about access
Forced adaptation is a concept in biology that describes the modification of an organism’s properties by imposing drastic changes to its environment. This may be done purposefully, to bring out characteristics deemed beneficial, such as improving the...
2020 Kroger School Food Rankings
2020 Kroger School Food Rankings
What COVID-19 Means for Texas Children & Families
Amidst the closures and stop gaps in business as usual, our thoughts turn to the state, local, and community institutions grappling with how to keep Texas families safe and healthy. According to the most recently available census data, more than 1.5 million in Texas...
2019 State of Public Education
For the past thirteen years, CHILDREN AT RISK (C@R) has assigned A-F grades and ranked Texas public schools to help parents, educators, and community members better understand how their local schools are performing. C@R has used this annual “dive into the data” to spark conversations about the quality of our public schools and push the state to adopt more transparent and rigorous standards.
Texas Continues to Recover: Two Years After Harvey
Hurricane Harvey made landfall outside of Rockport, Texas on August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 storm. The storm proceeded to affect 13 million people and cause $125 billion in damage. It produced a maximum inundation level of six to ten feet above ground level, a...
Building Gold Ribbon Schools
To understand school quality, each year CHILDREN AT RISK (C@R) ranks and grades schools across Texas. C@R celebrates schools that rise beyond expectations and excel academically. Gold Ribbon Schools are an example of these campuses that outperform their peers. More...
Investing in Teachers who are Charged with Child Development & School Readiness
by Patrick Gill, CHILDREN AT RISK In the recently released report, Building Brains & Economies: Quality Child Care as an Engine for Economic Development in a 21st Century Texas, CHILDREN AT RISK examines how quality child care can be leveraged to drive Texas’s...
2019 School Food Rankings
Across Texas, over 3 million low-income students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals through federal programs such as the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. For many of these children, meals eaten at school are the only...
Growing Up In Houston
From President & CEO of CHILDREN AT RISK, Dr. Robert Sanborn Data must be the catalyst and starting point to any conversation regarding the well-being of our children. While we can look at a multitude of indicators to gauge how we are doing as a city and state, we...
Only 10% of Eligible Children in Texas Receive Child Care Assistance
by Patrick Gill, CHILDREN AT RISK In the recently released report, Building Brains & Economies: Quality Child Care as an Engine for Economic Development in a 21st Century Texas, CHILDREN AT RISK examines how quality child care can be leveraged to drive Texas’s...
Quality ECE Can Transform the Future Workforce of Texas
by Patrick Gill and Shay Everitt, CHILDREN AT RISK In the recently released report, Building Brains & Economies: Quality Child Care as an Engine for Economic Development in a 21st Century Texas, CHILDREN AT RISK examines how quality child care can be leveraged to...