Skip to main content

Stockton Unified School District

Imagine the Possibilities!

Popular Links

  1. Departments & Programs
  2. Research & Accountability Department
  3. Research & Evaluation

Research & Evaluation

Evaluation Mission & Expectations

The mission of the Evaluation Division of the Educational Research and Accountability Department is to support student learning through the coordination of program evaluation and the analysis and the communication of results to promote discussions and inform decisions. The division is available to assist departments and school sites in a variety of ways including:   

    • Development of evaluation criteria
    • Data to support funding
    • Analyses of grant outcome measures for reporting requirements

    • State and federal programs
    • District and site programs

    • Planning
    • District initiatives

    • Survey instruments
    • Program implementation

    • Identifying academic trends
    • Summarizing data 

Although program evaluations and reports differ in complexity and depth, there are a few expected analysis requirements that are necessary to assess progress. To support the mission of the district, evaluations, and reports should contain a summary of the identified successful practices, obstacles encountered, and suggested applications for the district. Survey results and evaluations developed through the Research Office will be shared with the district to inform and improve practices. Evaluations and reports that are written to support grant-funded activities must be submitted to the Grant Office and can be reviewed by others upon request.

Professional Development

In some cases, data that sites and departments seek may already exist as a scheduled evaluation or report.  In other cases, the division will work with the department or site to develop surveys and analyses that will help them plan or assess their work. To foster the use of data to guide decisions, this division may offer workshops to district and site personnel by request.  The workshops will focus on understanding and using assessment data, basic elements of evaluation, and survey construction.  

Research Requests

Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) values educational research and encourages research efforts that foster student learning.  While SUSD’s Research and Accountability Department reviews all completed applications, only a select number of applications are approved. If research is approved, it is only valid for the duration specified in the research request and must be carried out in compliance with the original proposed design.  Extension of research requires further approval from the review committee and a resubmission of all research request materials.  The inclusion of other school sites or departments not in the original design also requires a new application to be submitted.  All activities are coordinated through the Research and Accountability Department.

***A research application is required from all individuals seeking to conduct research or collect data from within the Stockton Unified School District, including internal employees and those not employed by the district.

Applications most likely to be approved are those that

  • Are minimally intrusive to SUSD’s educational program
  • Do not violate rights to privacy
  • Have instructional and/or educational merit
  • Have strong theoretical foundations.

Research requests that may likely be denied are those that

  • Conflict with the visions and mission of SUSD
  • Do not benefit the district in informing educational practices, lacks educational merit or does not contribute scholarship to the larger educational community
  • Compromise the rights of the teachers and students
  • Interfere with or interrupt instructional time.
  • Even if applications meet the minimum criteria for approval, it remains at the discretion of the review committee to deny a research request if the district is unable to accommodate the research due to the volume of research requests applications and/or approved research being conducted

  • Submission Deadlines

    2024-2025

    • Fall - Nov 1, 2024; 
    • Winter/Spring - March 1, 2025 (application available Nov 2025)

  • (Fall 2024 Research Request)
    Applicants must submit one (1) electronic copy and one (1) hard copy of each of the following documents

    •  Completed and signed copy of the Research application
    •  Full research proposal and all research instruments and corresponding consent forms
    •  Letter of support from faculty advisor (graduate students only)
    •  A copy of your human subjects committee (or IRB/CPHS) approval
    •  A signed Nondisclosure Agreement
    •  TB and/or Megan’s Law Clearance, if applicable (see section 8 of application)

  • The following procedures have been adopted for the review and response process

    • After we receive your completed application, the Research Committee will review your application to ensure compliance with the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Acts (FERPA).   
    • Following the initial review of compliance, applications will be forwarded to associated departments in the district affected by the study; this does not include schools.  Even if the research request is approved, it is your responsibility to gain the cooperation of school site principals and other persons.  Sites have the right to deny the request and decline participation at any time in the study.
    • Notification will occur by email; responses from the review committee include approved, approval contingent on additional material submission or denied.  Incomplete applications will be denied during the review process.

Last Modified on May 6, 2025