Focus Areas

The UERC creates reliable, usable knowledge in seven core areas. Click on the tiles to learn more about specific areas of our work or scroll down to the bottom to see a full list of our projects.

Adult Learners
Career Pathways
Essential Skills/SEL
Pre-K-12 Education
Postsecondary Education
STEM Education
Teachers Work
Search Active Projects

Below is a list of our active projects, studies, and more.  If you are interested in viewing our archived projects, click here.

Adolescent Scaling Project

The Adolescent Scaling Project proposed revisions to two critical components of career empowerment: Career Literacy and Network Strength.

Focus Areas: Career Pathways, Postsecondary Education

Year: 2024-2025

Authentic Intellectual Work Initiative Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) initiative on student engagement, student achievement and teaching practice.

Focus Areas: Teachers Work, Essential Skills/SEL

Year: 2015-Present

Evaluation of Johnson County Community College S-STEM

This evaluation examines the impact of a scholarship and comprehensive support program on the academic engagement and postsecondary success of community college STEM students.

Focus Areas: STEM Education, Postsecondary Education

Year: 2023-Present

Evaluation of Reach Out and Read KC

This project aims to help Reach Out and Read KC refine data collection, entry, and analysis of annual parent surveys and explore and pursue avenues for studying child-level impact.

Year: 2024-Present

Evaluation of Rockhurst University SMART-STEM Program

This evaluation examines the impact of a scholarship and support program on the academic engagement and postsecondary success of university students pursuing degrees (B.S.) in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, or Physics.

Focus Areas: STEM Education, Postsecondary Education

Year: 2023-Present

Evaluation of Startland Education

This utilization-focused evaluation is examining the implementation and impact of Startland’s educational programming for students and teachers in the Kansas City metro area.

Focus Areas: Teachers Work, Career Pathways, STEM Education

Year: 2021-2024

Evaluation of the KUMC/KCKCC K-12 Initiative

This evaluation examines the impact of an extra-curricular enrichment program engaging middle and high school students in hands-on STEM learning experiences and exploration of STEM careers.

Focus Areas: STEM Education, K-12 Education

Year: 2023-Present

Higher Education AWP Study

The Higher Education Study examines the integration of the Agilities Framework and the Agile Work Profiler (AWP) assessment across higher education settings.

Focus Areas: Career Pathways, Postsecondary Education

Year: 2024-2025

Junior Achievement Program Evaluation

This evaluation examines the impact and implementation of the Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City’s programming, which includes multiple touchpoints to engage K-12 students in learning about financial literacy, community-level economics, work and career readiness, and business management.

Focus Areas: Essential Skills/SEL, K-12 Education

Year: 2022-Present

KC STEM Alliance PLTW Enrollment Data Project

This annual project involves collecting and analyzing enrollment data for Project Lead the Way (PLTW) in the Kansas City area.

Focus Areas: STEM Education, K-12 Education

Year: 2021-Present

KCCAN Landscape Analysis

This needs assessment examines college and career readiness and attainment in the 5-county Kansas City metropolitan region

Focus Areas: Postsecondary Education, K-12 Education

Year: 2025

Learning Club Evaluation Capacity-Building

This project includes co-designing a logic model and identifying evaluation priorities and strategies in partnership with an organization that supports academic and personal development for children and families in Kansas City, Kansas.

Focus Areas: Essential Skills/SEL, Career Pathways, K-12 Education

Year: 2025-Present

Missouri Project Lead the Way Longitudinal Study

This project links K-12 and postsecondary state data to examine the impact of a national STEM curriculum called Project Lead the Way.

Focus Areas: STEM Education, Postsecondary Education, K-12 Education

Year: 2020-Present

Path to College Evaluation

The Path to College initiative supports a literature review and the development of a measure for college and career readiness.

Focus Areas: Essential Skills/SEL, Career Pathways, Postsecondary Education

Year: 2025

ProX Summer Program Evaluation

This evaluation examines the implementation and impact of a paid summer internship program for Kansas City students.

Focus Areas: Career Pathways, K-12 Education

Year: 2022-2024

Teacher Instructional Time Use Study (TITUS)

The survey developed for this study will provide a fine-grained portrait of teachers’ work, how they feel about their work and how their work context affects what they do and how they feel.

Focus Areas: Teachers Work

Year: 2019-2022