President ~ Herrick Research LLC
Herrick Research LLC provides a variety of professional research, evaluation and assessment services for public service clients across the county, such as K-12 school districts, state departments of education, intermediate school districts, technical schools, educational labs and centers, universities, state and local health departments, and for profit companies working with public agencies.
Program/Project Evaluation
Formal external evaluations use both formative and summative approaches. Formative studies aid decision makers with critical information necessary for successful program implementation. Summative studies determine whether programs successfully met their indented objectives or expected outcomes. Such studies often use experimental or quasi-experimental designs.
Student Assessment
Student assessment services involve professional development inservice for teachers and school administrators. Such professional development may be for formative (classroom) assessment or summative (large scale standardized) testing. Formative assessment training involves the concepts of Assessment Of Learning, Assessment FOR Learning and Assessment As Learning. Specifically, this involves basic classroom assessment literacy, connecting assessments to curriculum standards, multiple methods for assessing complex standards, communicating assessment results and engaging students in their own assessment practices. Summative assessment involves helping teachers and administrators understand state test results, how to interpret test data to improve programs and schools, and how to use test data to met federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
Data Driven School Improvement
Often referred to as data mining or data retreats, data driven school improvement workshops involve teams of teachers and administrators working together with their own school data to determine their school strengths and weaknesses by creating a data based profile of their school. State and local testing data is disaggregated locally relevant subgroups, compared to subject area grades and other assessments, and examined longitudinally over the previous 3-5 years. Participants create data based goals, strategies and an action plan to improve their school.
STANDARDS & ASSESSMENT COORDINATOR
Cooperative Educational Service Agency#12, Ashland, WI ~ July 1, 2000 - June 30, 2002
• Coordinated and provided services to CESA #12 school districts to help them comply with Wisconsin state statutes regarding curriculum standards and state testing.
• Conducted Data Retreats to help teams of teachers and administrators understand state standardized test reports, classroom assessment data; and local data relative to instruction, community characteristics and student demographics.
• Conducted seminars to help teachers and administrators interpret their local data in order to write a comprehensive school improvement plans.
• Conducted workshops for teachers on classroom assessment, performance assessment, and rubric development.
• Conducted workshops for teachers on curriculum alignment with state academic standards.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Wisconsin North Central Association ~ UW-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI ~ July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2000
Managed all aspects the NCA office in Eau Claire.
• Conducted all NCA School Improvement Workshops in Wisconsin.
• Conducted workshops on assessment and data analysis for the Commission on Schools.
• Consulted with Wisconsin NCA schools regarding their school improvement process.
• Conducted Peer Review Training for prospective peer reviewers and team chairs.
• Conducted formal school improvement and assessment presentations for state and national organizations.
• Conducted district level presentations to promote NCA membership.
PROGRAM EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT SPECIALIST
Eau Claire Area School District Eau Claire, WI ~August 1994 - June 30, 1998
• Coordinated the NCA School Improvement Process at two high schools.
• Developed and implemented a comprehensive model for program evaluation.
• Lead teams of teachers in conducting K-12 curriculum evaluation studies.
• Coordinated standardized testing programs, including mandatory and voluntary programs.
• Planned the purchase, installation, and operation of 'in house' scanning, scoring, and reporting of standardized tests.
• Reviewed proposals from UWEC graduate students to conduct research in the district.
• Organized and chaired an advisory committee on student assessment, and used it to develop assessment inservice materials and procedures for staff development.
• Conducted workshops for teachers on the interpretation and use of standardized tests and classroom assessments.
• Presented the results of program evaluation studies and standardized test data to the board of education and to the local media.
• Participated in a statewide review of testing vendors for the Wisconsin Student Assessment System, and to a statewide panel to create state policy on classroom assessment literacy.
• Taught UW-Eau Claire graduate courses in classroom assessment.
• Monitored the Program Evaluation and Assessment budget.
EVALUATION CONSULTANT
Wisconsin Consortium For School Improvement ~ UW-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI ~ August 1988 - August 1994
• Assisted teachers and administrators in 60 school districts in evaluating educational programs and projects.
• Provided technical assistance and staff development on study design, instrument construction, data collection and analysis, reporting, on-site peer reviews and student assessment.
• Helped schools integrate state mandates and local initiatives with customized evaluation systems.
• Initiated and conducted statewide workshops for teachers and administrators on Focus Group Interviewing.
SENIOR MARKET RESEARCH MANAGER
Business Incentives, Edina, MN ~ May 1987 - August 1988
• Responsible for managing marketing research projects for Fortune 500 companies nationally.
• Conducted sales presentations for marketing research services.
• Developed research methodologies, designed instruments, conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews, analyzed data, wrote reports and established sub contracts for data analysis.
• Presented findings and recommendations to clients.
PRIVATE RESEARCH CONSULTANT
Eden Prairie, MN ~ September 1985 - May 1987
• Contracted with marketing research firms to help in conducting research studies.
• Coordinated the Marketing Research Department and supervised marketing analysts at Angela Corporation, a direct mail marketing firm.
• Contracted with the Assessment Section of the Minnesota Department of Education for item analysis of state assessments.
PRODUCT MANAGER, TESTWARE
National Computer Systems ~ Eden Prairie, MN ~ May 1984 - September 1985
• Responsible for managing educational assessment and survey software product lines.
• Designed functional specifications for software products.
• Coordinated marketing, sales, promotion, software development, and budget forecasts for Testware product line.
• Responsible for Profit/Loss control and the Testware budget.
• Negotiated and implemented a distributorship agreement with a software firm.
• Supervised a professional staff of testing specialists.
• Developed marketing plans for new educational assessment software products.
COORDINATOR OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
Grant Wood Area Education Agency ~ Cedar Rapids, IA ~ November 1974 - May 1984
• Responsible for managing the Research and Evaluation Department, which provided evaluation services to 39 school districts, including program evaluation, needs assessment, attitudinal surveys, data base reports and student assessment.
• Initiated and operated a Teacher-Researcher Program, test scoring services, needs assessment software package, and management training seminars.
• Chaired the Research and Evaluation Advisory Committee.
• Supervised three professional evaluators.
• Developed and monitored the Research and Evaluation budget.
EMPLOYMENT TEST ANALYST
Michigan Employment Security Commission ~ Detroit, MI ~ July 1968 - November 1974
• Conducted predictive validity studies to establish norms on vocational tests (i.e. General Aptitude Test Battery, Adult Basic Literacy Exam, and various work sample tests.)
• Co-authored the Occupational Aptitude Pattern Manual for the GATB.
• Trained vocational and employment counselors on test administration and interpretation.
• Initiated a long range plan for test development with vocational schools, and conducted validation studies with Detroit inner city and suburban high schools.