What PERTS does

PERTS is a U.S. nonprofit founded in 2010 at Stanford University that develops and disseminates evidence-based programs designed to improve K-12 and higher-education learning conditions by systematically capturing student feedback. Its core product suite centers on short student-voice surveys paired with personalized reports and research-based practice guides: Elevate serves grades 6-12 and measures nine learning conditions (including belonging, growth mindset, teacher caring, and student voice); Ascend serves higher-education institutions and measures seven conditions tied to persistence and equity; Catalyze addresses organizational-level improvement; and standalone Growth Mindset and Social Belonging modules deliver brief scalable interventions for college students. The underlying platform is a cloud-based survey and reporting system hosted on Google Cloud Platform with AES-256 encryption, SOC 2 Type II audit, and ISO 27001/27017/27018 certifications, supporting FERPA-aligned data handling for K-12 student records.

PERTS monetizes through a hybrid of philanthropic foundation grants (Gates, Raikes, Overdeck, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, College Futures, New Schools Venture Fund, Oak, Schusterman) and recurring service contracts with partner schools, districts, and colleges. Go-to-market relies on direct institutional engagement (Request a Demo), a self-serve educator portal at copilot.perts.net, and distribution through partner networks including APLU, CASEL, the Student Experience Project, UChicago Consortium, KIPP, Teach For America, and City Year. The organization is privately held, fiscally sponsored by the Tides Center 501(c)(3), operates remotely across the U.S. with roughly 15 staff members, and reports that 400-plus schools and colleges use its programs, reaching more than 100,000 students annually.

Name

PERTS

Legal name

The Project for Educational Research That Scales

Website

https://perts.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PERTS is a Stanford-originated nonprofit that builds survey-based programs (Elevate for grades 6-12, Ascend for higher education) measuring student perceptions of learning conditions and providing educators with personalized reports and research-backed practice guides.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Technology / Student Feedback Analytics

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Assessment, Testing & Analytics Platforms (Formative/Summative) (EDAJAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Survey, Formative Assessment & Classroom Response (Quizzes/Polls) Tools (EDAFADAN), Curriculum, Lesson Planning & Instructional Content Platforms (EDAJAMAD)

Keywords

• Student voice surveys
• Learning conditions analytics
• Educator professional development
• Educational research platform
• School improvement software

Headquarters

HQ city

Stanford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: PERTS is funded by national foundations including the Raikes Foundation, Gates Foundation, Overdeck Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and others.
2. Service Contracts: PERTS generates revenue through service contracts from partner colleges and school districts using their evidence-based programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PERTS develops and delivers evidence-based survey programs and online platforms that measure students' perceptions of classroom learning conditions and translate the data into personalized reports and research-based practice guides for educators. Its flagship offerings—Elevate for grades 6-12 and Ascend for higher education—enable K-12 schools, districts, and colleges to run continuous improvement cycles aimed at boosting student engagement, belonging, and academic outcomes.

Product overview

PERTS (The Project for Educational Research That Scales) is a nonprofit educational technology organization that develops and offers seven evidence-based programs centered on student voice surveys and continuous improvement. The core product portfolio includes Elevate (a K-12 student voice program for grades 6-12 measuring nine learning conditions) and Ascend (a higher education professional learning program measuring seven learning conditions), both providing survey tools, actionable reports, and research-based practice guides. Supporting programs include Catalyze (organizational-level improvement), Growth Mindset for College Students, and Social Belonging for College Students. The programs function as an integrated suite where student feedback surveys feed into personalized reports that guide educators in implementing targeted instructional strategies, with continuous improvement cycles through repeated measurement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Elevate: Student voice program for grades 6-12 that measures students' perceptions of learning conditions and provides educators with practical recommendations for instructional strategies.
• Ascend
• Catalyze
• Growth Mindset for College Students
• Social Belonging for College Students

Products and services

• Elevate A student voice survey program for grades 6-12 that measures nine core learning conditions (Affirming Identities, Classroom Community, Feedback for Growth, Learning Goals, Meaningful Work, Student Voice, Supportive Teaching, Teacher Caring, Well-Organized Class) and delivers personalized reports and research-based practice guides to educators.
• Ascend A data-driven professional learning program for higher education that enables college instructors and administrators to measure seven core learning conditions (Belonging Certainty, Identity Safety, Institutional Growth Mindset, Self-Efficacy, Social Belonging, Social Connectedness, Trust & Fairness) and implement research-based practices.
• Catalyze An organizational improvement program that helps educational organizations build capacity to create equitable learning environments through continuous measurement of professional learning and organizational conditions.
• Growth Mindset for College Students A research-based intervention program designed to help college students develop growth mindset beliefs about intelligence, supporting academic motivation and persistence through brief, scalable exercises delivered via PERTS' neptune platform.
• Social Belonging for College Students A brief exercise-based intervention that helps students understand that belonging concerns in college are normal, reducing belonging uncertainty and supporting social adjustment and academic success.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students are 2x more likely to earn As and Bs in math with optimal learning conditions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPLU is a membership organization of public research universities that partners with PERTS to advance educational equity and student success initiatives.
• CASELcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) collaborates with PERTS on social-emotional learning and student belonging initiatives.
• Student Experience ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPERTS is a learning partner in the Student Experience Project, a national effort to center student experiences and advance educational equity.
• UChicago Consortium on School ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Consortium at University of Chicago for research collaboration on educational equity and student success.
• Network for College Success (NCS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NCS at University of Chicago to support college readiness and student success initiatives.
• KIPPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) partners with PERTS on initiatives to improve learning conditions for students in K-12 education.
• City YearcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity Year partners with PERTS on student support and engagement initiatives, particularly in schools with high dropout rates.
• Teach For AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTFA partners with PERTS on initiatives to improve educational equity and student outcomes.
• Tides CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTides Center is PERTS' fiscal sponsor, providing 501(c)(3) non-profit status and administrative support.
• Equity AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEquity Accelerator partnered with PERTS to develop the Classroom Practices Library, providing evidence-based practice recommendations for instructors.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPERTS originated as a laboratory at Stanford University and continues research collaboration with Stanford faculty.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): A nonprofit research and advocacy organization that defines SEL frameworks and school resources. It is both a PERTS partner and a thought-leadency competitor in the SEL/learning-conditions space, influencing district adoption of survey-based tools.
• ClassDojo: A widely adopted K-12 classroom engagement and SEL platform with a massive teacher user base. While its primary tool is a classroom-management app, it has expanded into SEL curriculum and could integrate student-voice feedback.
• WestEd: A nonprofit education research and development organization that conducts studies, evaluation, and capacity-building for schools. It overlaps with PERTS in the education research-to-practice translation space, especially around equity and SEL.
• RAND Corporation (Education Division): A large nonprofit research organization with a prominent education division producing high-impact studies on teaching, learning, and equity. It is comparable to PERTS in producing rigorous education research, though with a much broader scope.

Broad incumbents

• Qualtrics: A large enterprise survey and experience-management platform increasingly expanding into education. While not K-12 focused, its deep survey infrastructure and analytics capabilities make it an adjacent threat if districts consolidate vendors.
• LearnPlatform (by Instructure): An edtech evaluation and management platform helping districts track tool effectiveness. It is adjacent rather than directly competitive, but sits in district procurement workflows where PERTS' learning-conditions data could be consumed.

Direct peers

• BrightBytes: A K-12 education analytics platform measuring technology use, student engagement, and SEL outcomes for schools and districts. It overlaps with PERTS in measuring learning conditions and selling into district administrators.
• Panorama Education: A venture-backed K-12 social-emotional learning and survey/analytics platform serving schools and districts with student-voice and climate surveys. It is the most direct commercial competitor to PERTS' Elevate product and competes for the same institutional buyers.

Others

• UChicago Consortium on School Research: A university-based research-practice partnership studying Chicago Public Schools. It is a PERTS partner and a peer in producing rigorous evidence on learning conditions, school climate, and equity in K-12 education.
• Student Experience Project: A national initiative in which PERTS is a learning partner, focused on improving student belonging and equity in gateway STEM courses. It is a direct collaborator and thematic peer in translating belonging research into practice at scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pertslab
• Facebookfacebook.com/pertslab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/perts

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PERTS