Welcome to the Kansas City Area Education Research Consortium (KC–AERC). Social science, science and education researchers from five major research universities--the University of Kansas (KU), the University of Missouri, Kansas City (UM–KC), Kansas State University (KSU), Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Missouri–Columbia (MU)— have begun to collaborate with many different school districts in the Kansas City metropolitan area to form an educational research consortium for the study and improvement of student achievement across the region. Research consortia have been established in Chicago and other cities, but each of these consortia limit research to a single school district. In contrast, the Kansas City Area Education Research Consortium (KC–AERC) will include multiple school district and charter school partners across two states with different policy environments, and thus will produce a unique national resource for studying educational improvement. The engagement of five research institutions in the improvement of regional K–12 education through KC–AERC distinguishes Kansas City from other major American metropolitan areas of its size. Our shared goal is to provide all regional educational stakeholders, including school districts, charter schools, community organizations, and private sector partners, with a powerful tool for building a culture of data-driven educational policy research, evaluation, and implementation.
Kansas City Area Education Research Consortium
(785) 864-9104 info@kcaerc.org
