Since Goshen Education was founded in 2009, it has provided services and delivered projects that have received more than $40 million in program funds. The company is purposefully focused on southwestern Illinois for the majority of its work. By targeting this region, Goshen Education staff can personally be involved with program development, educational evaluation, research and data needs of local organizations and meet with program organizers in person.
The company has special competencies in STEM program evaluation, At-Risk student identification and monitoring, and data warehouse reporting and aggregation. STEM program evaluation approaches often focus on teacher professional development, changes in teacher classroom strategies, impacts on students, and program sustainability. At-Risk student analyses have included the analytical identification of students at risk given known risk factors and the development of regular reports to monitor those students. Data warehouse projects involve the aggregation of multiple data sets to identify common metrics to lead and inform broad policy initiatives.
Evaluation methodologies vary among projects, but usually focus on an outcomes-based approach with the development of a logic model, SMART goals and clear indicators that demonstrate the accomplishment of the desired outcome. Additional competencies include process-based evaluation and fidelity-based evaluation.
Methods are frequently mixed utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitatively the company has provided general linear modeling, path analysis, as well as typical significance testing and other descriptive statistics. Qualitative methods often include narrative analysis, focus group and individual interviewing incorporating a naturalistic inquiry approach.