New Jersey Institute of Technology Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge Grant Evaluation:

Evaluand provided external evaluation support to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) for a project funded by an Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge (OMIC) grant from the New Jersey Secretary of Education’s office, with support from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. The Forensic Science Initiative (FSI) leveraged partnerships with the City of Newark and Newark Board of Education to improve, implement, and evaluate a pathway to college through out-of-school time forensic science learning.

Evaluand supported NJIT’s efforts through a flexible research agenda- and capacity-building approach, for execution of a Design and Development Research study consistent with standards defined by the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Education Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development. Evaluand Principal, Kirk Knestis PhD, helped NJIT program managers clarify a theoretical basis for studying the FSI model, determine the data required to evaluate its implementation and outcomes, and establish an initial research agenda to put the FSI model on a path toward “Promising Evidence” as defined within the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Tiers of Evidence.