Promoting and supporting the design of assessments capable of providing insights about what and how students learn.

Evaluating programs and interventions intended to have effects on student learning.

Disseminating research to a wide audience of educators, educational organizations, government representatives and units, the media, and the public.

Collaborating with local, state and national groups, organizations, and individuals on projects germane to our mission.

Enhancing the School of Education’s graduate program in Research and Evaluation Methodology.

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The Center for Assessment, Design, Research and Evaluation (CADRE)

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The Center for Assessment, Design, Research and Evaluation (CADRE) is housed in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. The mission of the School of Education is grounded in a lived commitment to democracy, diversity, equity, and justice. The School of Education engages in research to make a positive difference with and in schools and communities. The work of the School of Education’s faculty, researchers, staff, and students contributes to evidence-based policy and practice. As a key research center of the School of Education, the CADRE team carries out work with national organizations, state departments of education, and local school districts to help fulfill the school’s mission. Our projects are intended to produce generalizable knowledge, to assess and improve student learning, and to evaluate programs and methods that may have a meaningful effect on student learning and promote more equitable student outcomes.

Our Goals:

To promote and support the design of assessments capable of providing insights about what and how students learn.
To evaluate programs and interventions intended to have effects on student learning.
To disseminate the results of its research to a wide audience of individual educators, educational institutions and organizations, government representatives and units, the media, and the general public.
To collaborate with local, state and national groups, organizations, and individuals on projects germane to its mission.
To enhance the School of Education’s graduate program in Research and Evaluation Methodology.
To support the School of Education’s mission by identifying evidence-based policies and practice that promote equity and justice.

CADRE meets these purposes by conducting research in assessment and psychometrics, taking a lead role in small and large-scale educational evaluation projects, and training graduate students to have expertise in these areas. CADRE leverages the widely recognized strength of faculty throughout the School of Education in assessment and evaluation. This expertise is rooted in expertise in both disciplinary content and research methodology. The primary home of CADRE is the school’s Research and Evaluation Methodology program, where faculty specialize in psychometrics, statistics, experimental design and program evaluation. CADRE projects also involve interdisciplinary content experts in other schools and departments and those with an interest and expertise in educational assessment and evaluation throughout the university.