Research & Data
PROMOTING DATA-DRIVEN PUBLIC POLICIES
The Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation (CSME) supports the research and evaluation efforts across all of
Children in Texas Public Schools
Economically Disadvantage Students in Texas Public Schools
children are in the emergent bilingual/English learner program
Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation
One in ten children in the U.S. is born in Texas. Providing 10% of our country’s population with a quality education is critically important to the future of our local, state, and national economies.
Primarily achieved through our Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation (CSME), CHILDREN AT RISK works to ensure all Texas children have access to quality education, so they have the skills necessary to thrive in our 21st-Century economy.
Through strategic partnerships, CHILDREN AT RISK researches trends, inequities, resources, and opportunities to improve public education. We use this research to educate policymakers and advocate for better education policies
The Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation (CSME) supports the research and evaluation efforts across all of CHILDREN AT RISK’s primary issue areas, centers, and policy initiatives. CSME produces data tools to empower individuals with the information they need to drive and inform policy change.
Data-Driven Community Advocacy Tools
CSME designs and disseminates data-based research tools including:
- Annual School Rankings
- School data for parents
- 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
School districts with the top food programs for low-income students in Texas
By David McClendon and Jenny Eyer, Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation 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...
Hurricane Harvey keeps 1.4 million students out of public schools for at least a week
By David McClendon, Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation Last Monday was the first day of the new school year for public school students across Texas. But for many children up and down the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Harvey has delayed the start of school – for...
Foster Care Failures & Reform: The Legislative Response to M.D., et al v. Abbott, et al
On December 17, 2015, the District Court of the Southern District of Texas declared that Texas’s foster system “is broken, and it has been that way for decades.” The Court ruled that Texas had violated foster children’s Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process...
Pre K STAAR Report
Pre-K STAAR Full Report Pre-K STAAR Executive Summary With funding from the Meadows Foundation, researchers at CHILDREN AT RISK engaged in a study to examine how participation in Texas public Pre-K is associated with performance on the 3rd Grade STAAR Reading...
Pre-K in Texas: A Critical Component for Academic Success
With funding from the Meadows Foundation, researchers at CHILDREN AT RISK engaged in a study to examine how participation in Texas public Pre-K is associated with performance on the 3rd Grade STAAR Reading assessment. CHILDREN AT RISK tracked approximately 47,000...
Benefits of High Quality Pre-kindergarten
There are over 2.3 million kids under the age of five in Texas. That is a lot of kids! Unfortunately, Texas only meets two of the ten quality benchmarks outlined by the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER). Texas spends less than the national average...
Universal School Breakfast
Growing up, many of us can remember a parent, teacher or coach saying, “Don’t forget to eat breakfast, it’s the most important meal of the day!” It turns out they were right; breakfast is important. Studies have found that eating breakfast can improve a student’s...
BigTent Presentations Available to Download
This Thursday CHILDREN AT RISK was busy hosting three sessions at the BigTent Conference: 'The State of America's Schools and Children,' 'What Works in Texas...And What Needs to Change,' and 'Texas Superintendent Panel on Education.' Our presentations from these...
The Eleventh Edition of Growing Up in Houston
CHILDREN AT RISK released the eleventh edition of our biennial publication, Growing Up in Houston, at our annual Accolades luncheon on October 14, 2010. The book contains the latest data on over 140 indicators measuring the quality of life of Texas’ children, and...
The Launch of the Journal of Applied Research on Children
In 2040, Latino children will make up the majority of Texas’ child population, at a projected two out of every three children. As we consider the inevitable demographic shifts in our state and nation, we recognize the critical importance of identifying proven...
CHILDREN AT RISK @ the BigTent
The BigTent Conference is nearly a month away ... will you be joining us? There has been a lot of buzz about this event--one of the largest conferences focused on children to come to our city--but there may remain some confusion as to what IS the BigTent. In short,...