ECRA Group
ECRA Group is a privately held K-12 educational analytics firm that provides predictive analytics, strategic dashboards, an AI assistant, and data briefs to over 1,000 U.S. school districts, primarily through subscription-based software and association-led distribution.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- HeadquartersSchaumburg, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What ECRA Group does
ECRA Group Inc. is a privately held K-12 educational data and analytics company founded in 1984 and headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois, employing 101-250 people and claiming partnerships with over 1,000 U.S. school systems. Its core offering is a suite of software products built on proprietary predictive analytics applied to longitudinal student data, including the School Improvement platform (predictive goal-setting and program evaluation via the Academic Return on Investment methodology), the Strategic Dashboard (KPI tracking for superintendents and boards), the AI Assistant (generative-AI conversational access to district data), and a portfolio of Data Briefs (State Percentile Analysis and Comparative District Analysis reports).
The company's analytics stack draws on more than 1 million Illinois student records and 40+ years of accumulated data science experience, including equating studies and concordance tables that translate state scale scores to national assessments. Revenue is generated through a mix of annual platform subscriptions (School Improvement, Strategic Dashboard, AI Assistant), quote-based consulting engagements, and self-serve purchases of Data Briefs (priced at $2,500 per report or $5,000 per year for a subscription bundle). Go-to-market is primarily direct sales targeting K-12 superintendents and administrators, augmented by GTM and co-marketing partnerships with major U.S. superintendent and principal associations (AASA, IASA, WASDA, Illinois Principals Association, CADCA). The company is led by CEO/President Dr. John Gatta, a Northwestern University professor and recognized authority in educational analytics; the company appears bootstrapped with no disclosed outside funding, M&A, or institutional ownership.
ECRA Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ECRA Group
- Legal name
- ECRA Group Inc.
- Website
- https://ecragroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ECRA Group is a privately held K-12 educational analytics firm that provides predictive analytics, strategic dashboards, an AI assistant, and data briefs to over 1,000 U.S. school districts, primarily through subscription-based software and association-led distribution.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ECRA Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Education Analytics
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Education Reporting, Dashboards & Business Intelligence (BI) (EDADAIAC)
Keywords
Where ECRA Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Schaumburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ECRA Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- School Improvement Platform Subscription: Annual subscription-based access to ECRA's School Improvement web-based application that provides predictive analytics, goal-setting, and program evaluation capabilities for school districts.
- Data Briefs: One-time or subscription purchases of data brief reports (State Percentile Analysis, Comparative District Analysis) that provide executive-level analysis of district data in PDF format for board reporting and community communication.
- Strategic Dashboard: Platform subscription for district strategic dashboards that track key performance indicators, align district priorities, and communicate success to stakeholders.
- AI Assistant Access: Access to AI-powered just-in-time information solution for informed decision-making.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | State Percentile Analysis Data Brief - $2,500 per report |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Comparative District Analysis Data Brief - $2,500 per report |
| Subscription | Annual | Data Brief Subscription - $5,000 per year |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
ECRA Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ECRA Group provides K-12 school districts with a suite of predictive analytics and AI-powered data and analytics solutions. Its products enable district leaders to set goals, forecast student outcomes, measure program effectiveness through Academic Return on Investment (AROI), track KPIs via dashboards, and communicate results to boards and communities through executive data briefs.
Product overview
ECRA Group offers a unified suite of K-12 data and analytics solutions designed specifically for school district leaders. The core platform centers on School Improvement, which uses predictive analytics for goal-setting, student outcome forecasting, and measuring program effectiveness. This integrates with the Strategic Dashboard for KPI tracking and board communication, and the AI Assistant for conversational access to data insights. Data Briefs provide executive-level reporting products including State Percentile Analysis and Comparative District Analysis for various states. Academic Return on Investment (AROI) is a specialized module within School Improvement that quantifies program impact. The products work together to help districts move from reactive data analysis to evidence-based, predictive decision-making.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- School Improvement Predictive analytics platform for K-12 school districts that enables leaders to set goals, track student performance against projected outcomes, forecast student outcomes based on local data trends, and measure academic return on investment for programs and interventions.
- Strategic Dashboard Interactive dashboard for superintendents and boards of education to track key performance indicators, align strategic priorities, and communicate district success to stakeholders.
- AI Assistant AI-powered conversational assistant providing just-in-time information to help school district leaders make evidence-based decisions quickly through natural language queries.
- Data Briefs Executive-level visual PDF reports that distill complex state report card data into accessible insights for board members, community stakeholders, and non-technical audiences. Includes State Percentile Analysis and Comparative District Analysis reports offered for multiple states.
- Academic Return on Investment (AROI) Analytical methodology and tool measuring the impact of programs and interventions on student learning by comparing student growth with the program to student growth without the program. Available within the School Improvement solution and as standalone data briefs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 42% increase in schools achieving above-expected growth for ELL students (from 29% to 71%)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use ECRA Group
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ECRA Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability8 records
Feature5 records
ECRA Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- Illinois Consortium for the Study of English Learner Program EffectivenesscoreECRA serves as the Consortium's data and research partner, supporting over 100 Illinois school districts with disaggregated analysis by program model, years in program, grade level, and school. The work aligns with Vision 2030 and helps districts understand which EL and bilingual program models are most effective. ECRA examines outcomes collectively to inform both program improvement and policy advocacy.
- Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA)coreECRA partnered with IASA for an AI Research and Development Program. Dr. John Gatta, CEO of ECRA, discusses ECRA's new AI Assistant on the IASA Podcast. Joint webinars and content creation on Illinois accountability and proficiency benchmarks.
- AASA Learning 2025 NetworksecondaryECRA launched an adaptive cohort exclusively for the AASA Learning 2025 Network in partnership with AASA. This 3-month cohort includes learning modules and allows participants to join at any time and learn at their own pace.
- Illinois Principals Association (IPA)secondaryDr. John Gatta discussed assessment and accountability with IPA Executive Director Jason Leahy on a webinar. Topics included the latest Illinois Report Card data and how districts can use ECRA's Illinois Report Card Analysis report.
- Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA)secondaryECRA partnered with WASDA to offer school districts resources supporting evidence-based practice by quantifying the impact of investments in programs, interventions, and school improvement initiatives on student outcomes.
- AASA (The School Superintendents Association)coreAASA extended its school solutions partnership with ECRA to help schools document the impact of their equity initiatives. ECRA is a long-standing school solutions partner of AASA, providing analytics solutions focused on improving student outcomes through evidence-based practices.
- CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America)secondaryECRA has an MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) Research Partnership with CADCA focused on research collaboration in the education space.
- Huntley Community School District 158secondaryDr. Erika Schlichter from Huntley 158 presented a case study on Academic ROI measurement at an AASA webinar co-hosted by ECRA. Example of customer partnership for thought leadership content.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ECRA Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Panorama Education: Provides K-12 districts with data analytics and dashboards for academic, SEL, and family engagement outcomes, addressing similar superintendent decision-support use cases as ECRA.
- Illuminate Education: K-12 data and analytics platform offering assessment, reporting, and data management tools to school districts, directly overlapping ECRA's analytics and dashboard offerings.
- BrightBytes: K-12 analytics platform that frames district data around learning, teaching, and equity indicators, closely comparable to ECRA's evidence-based decision support for school leaders.
- Hanover Research: Subscription-based research and analytics provider for K-12 districts and administrators, with comparable benchmarking and custom reporting offerings to ECRA's Data Briefs.
- American Institutes for Research (AIR): Nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization that conducts education research and provides analytic tools to school districts, comparable to ECRA's evidence-based practice work and EL Consortium research role.
- Certica Solutions: K-12 education data interoperability and analytics provider serving districts and state agencies, addressing overlapping data warehouse, dashboard, and accountability needs.
- Hoonuit (a PowerSchool company): K-12 data analytics and visualization platform now part of PowerSchool, providing dashboards and analytics for district leaders comparable to ECRA's Strategic Dashboard offering.
Broad incumbents
- PowerSchool: Dominant K-12 student information system provider that has expanded into analytics, dashboards, and AI-powered insights through Hoonuit and Unified Talent, competing for the same district analytics budgets as ECRA.
- NWEA: Provider of MAP Growth assessments and accompanying analytic reports for K-12, overlapping with ECRA's student growth measurement and predictive analytics capabilities.
- Renaissance Learning: Major K-12 assessment and analytics provider offering Star Assessments and related reporting, with comparable analytics and dashboard functionality for school improvement.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ECRA Group social profiles
Digital presenceECRA Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ECRA Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ECRA Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ECRA Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ECRA Group
What does ECRA Group do?
ECRA Group provides K-12 school districts with a suite of predictive analytics and AI-powered data and analytics solutions. Its products enable district leaders to set goals, forecast student outcomes, measure program effectiveness through Academic Return on Investment (AROI), track KPIs via dashboards, and communicate results to boards and communities through executive data briefs.
Is ECRA Group a public or private company?
ECRA Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ECRA Group founded?
ECRA Group was founded in 1984. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ECRA Group based?
ECRA Group is headquartered in Schaumburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does ECRA Group make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. School Improvement Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are data Briefs, strategic Dashboard and AI Assistant Access.
Who are ECRA Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Panorama Education, Illuminate Education, BrightBytes, Hanover Research, American Institutes for Research (AIR), Certica Solutions and Hoonuit (a PowerSchool company). Broad incumbents are PowerSchool, NWEA and Renaissance Learning.
Does ECRA Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for ECRA Group.
What industry is ECRA Group in?
ECRA Group's product category is K-12 Education Analytics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAIAC, Education Reporting, Dashboards & Business Intelligence (BI). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 7374.