Consortium for Policy Research in Education

What Consortium for Policy Research in Education does

The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) is a non-profit research consortium founded in 1985 by Susan Fuhrman and currently headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) at 3440 Market Street, Suite 560, Philadelphia. CPRE comprises senior researchers from seven leading schools of education — Penn GSE, Teachers College Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, University of Michigan, Northwestern, UC San Diego, and University of Wisconsin-Madison — operating under Executive Director Jonathan A. Supovitz. The consortium conducts evidence-based research on the relationship between educational policy and its effects on classroom practice, student learning, school reform, teacher workforce, and school governance, with a documented output of more than 40,000 annual downloads of its research products worldwide.

CPRE's deliverables span a diverse portfolio rather than a single unified product. Core outputs include the Research Minutes podcast (an award-winning weekly dissemination channel), the CPRE Knowledge Hub platform (cprehub.org), the Scholarly Commons open-access repository hosted within Penn Libraries, and the ECDataWorks / ECDataWorks Community multimedia initiatives focused on early childhood integrated data systems. Practitioner-facing instruments and toolkits include OGAP (Ongoing Assessment Project), TASK (Teacher Analysis of Student Knowledge), the CRS 360 Tool Kit for culturally responsive schooling, and evaluation work on the Zoology One (now ARC Core) integrated literacy and science curriculum. Products are largely published open access at no cost to end users, while validated instruments and toolkits represent the consortium's primary channels for engaging paying institutional customers.

CPRE's revenue model is grant-funded and contract-based rather than commercial SaaS or product sales. Primary revenue streams are federal grants (notably from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, including a $3 million IES grant in October 2021 for the CRS 360 project), foundation grants (W.K. Kellogg Foundation for ECDataWorks 2016-2019; Heising-Simons Foundation for ECDataWorks Community), and program evaluation contract services for education organizations (e.g., the School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders). With approximately 26 employees, CPRE operates on a professional-services/grant-revenue model serving education policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and the general public, with all scholarly outputs distributed free of charge and no disclosed pricing for access.

Name

Consortium for Policy Research in Education

Legal name

Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

Website

https://cpre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) is a non-profit research consortium headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, comprising researchers from seven leading universities who conduct evidence-based research on education policy, practice, and equity, distributed open-access to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Policy Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Education (EDADALAD)

Keywords

• Education policy research
• Program evaluation
• K-12 assessment
• Education research consortium
• Scholarly publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Federal and State Grants: CPRE conducts research funded by federal grants (e.g., $3 million IES grant for culturally responsive schooling, Department of Education grants) and foundation funding (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation).
2. Program Evaluation Services: CPRE conducts rigorous program evaluation and research studies for educational organizations and agencies on a contract basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) is a nonprofit research consortium based at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. It conducts K-12 education policy research, program evaluation, and assessment development for school districts, foundations, and federal/state agencies, and disseminates findings through reports, assessment tools, and online resources.

Product overview

The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) is a research consortium headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, not a unified software product but rather a collection of research initiatives, publications, and tools. The portfolio includes the Research Minutes podcast for disseminating education research, the CPRE Knowledge Hub as a platform for policymakers and practitioners, ECDataWorks (and its ECDataWorks Community offshoot) for early childhood data systems support, the Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP) for formative math assessment, the TASK instrument for measuring teacher mathematical knowledge, and various policy briefs and research reports. CPRE also developed the CRS 360 Tool Kit for culturally responsive schooling. Research outputs are distributed through the Scholarly Commons open access repository.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CPRE Knowledge Hub: An initiative to unite education policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, home to the Research Minutes podcast.
• Research Minutes
• ECDataWorks

Products and services

• CRS 360 Tool Kit A tool kit developed by CPRE to help educators assess and improve classroom reading strategies across subjects.
• TASK (Teachers Assessing Student Knowledge) An assessment instrument designed to support teachers' formative assessment of student knowledge.
• OGAP (Ongoing Assessment Project) An ongoing assessment system developed by CPRE to support mathematics and literacy instruction.
• ECDataWorks A data analytics platform produced by CPRE that aggregates and analyzes education data for research and policy use.
• Program Evaluation Services Independent evaluation of K-12 education programs and interventions, delivered to school districts, foundations, and government agencies.
• Education Policy Research Reports Peer-reviewed and commissioned research reports on K-12 education policy issues, produced for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40,000+ yearly downloads of research products worldwide
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• The Leadership AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2021National nonprofit organization supporting culturally responsive school leaders. CPRE partnered with The Leadership Academy on a $3 million IES-funded project to create and validate research-based tools (CRS 360° Tool Kit) for schools to assess and cultivate culturally responsive practices. The Leadership Academy provides expertise and facilitates collaboration with education leaders from diverse schools and districts.
• University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of EducationcoreOthersCPRE's headquarters located at Penn GSE, one of the nation's premier research education schools ranked #2 by U.S. News & World Report.
• Teachers College, Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPRE-TC branch led by Douglas Ready, conducting research on education policy and equity with dedicated team of researchers.
• Harvard University Graduate School of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of CPRE 7 consortium, contributing researchers including Jal Mehta.
• Stanford University Graduate School of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of CPRE 7 consortium contributing education research expertise.
• University of Michigan School of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of CPRE 7 consortium, home to Donald J. Peurach and Deborah Loewenberg Ball.
• Northwestern University School of Education and Social PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of CPRE 7 consortium, home to James Spillane and Cynthia Coburn.
• UC San DiegocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of CPRE 7 consortium, home to Alan J. Daly and Amanda Datnow.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin Center for Education ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of CPRE 7 consortium, home to John B. Diamond and Allan Odden.
• SRI InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-principal investigator Missy Coffey from SRI International leads ECDataWorks project, focusing on early childhood technical assistance.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MDRC: A nonprofit social policy research organization known for rigorous evaluations of education and workforce programs, including randomized controlled trials — strongly comparable to CPRE's evaluation and program-improvement work.
• WestEd: A nonprofit research, development, and service agency that works with education and justice agencies to improve outcomes through research, evaluation, and program design — directly comparable to CPRE's education research and evaluation model.
• SRI International (Education Division): A nonprofit research institute conducting education research, evaluation, and tool development for federal agencies and foundations — directly comparable to CPRE and already a co-PI partner on ECDataWorks.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): One of the largest U.S. behavioral and social science research organizations, conducting rigorous education policy research, program evaluation, and technical assistance for federal, state, and local clients — directly comparable to CPRE's core activities.
• Mathematica Policy Research: A nonprofit research organization that conducts rigorous social policy research and program evaluation, with a major education division serving federal and state clients — overlapping directly with CPRE's evaluation and evidence-generation work.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: A large, diversified nonprofit research institution with a substantial education policy research portfolio that produces independent, evidence-based analysis for public- and private-sector decision makers — a broader-scoped incumbent in the same space as CPRE.
• Brookings Institution (Center for Universal Education): A leading think tank producing influential education policy research and commentary — comparable to CPRE in policy research dissemination, though with a broader public focus and global orientation.
• Urban Institute: A nonprofit research organization that conducts economic and social policy research, including a substantial education policy portfolio — comparable to CPRE's evidence-based policy research mission, though broader in scope.
• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): A private, nonprofit research organization that convenes affiliated researchers studying education, labor, and public economics — comparable to CPRE in its academic consortium model and education policy research output.

Emerging players

• Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Georgia State University: A university-based research-practice partnership that conducts rigorous education policy research and program evaluation for state agencies — a more regionally focused, emerging peer with strong overlap in equity-focused research methods.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CPREresearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCotxhSAKJJ5ZHzlm73-ikhR4d0BnvhiQ6
• Facebookfacebook.com/CPREresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/consortium-for-policy-research-in-education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Consortium for Policy Research in Education