Projects
The CREA team works with schools and districts in the state of Nevada and beyond, helping them assess and evaluate programs and initiatives designed to improve education. Here are a few current and past projects.
Power-Based Violence in Nevada Higher Education
On behalf of the Nevada System of Higher Education, CREA is conducting a multi-year study to redesign and pilot a systemwide power-based violence climate survey for Nevada’s higher education institutions. The project includes reviewing existing measures, collecting and analyzing statewide survey data, and delivering reports and recommendations to the Board of Regents to strengthen prevention and response efforts across campuses.
CCSD Title I Evaluation: Read by Grade 3
CREA continues to support external evaluation efforts for the Clark County School District Title I programming. For the 2025-26 school year, UNLV CREA will analyze the impact that the district’s early literacy programming has on elementary student literacy outcomes.
Evaluating Nevada’s Pupil-Centered Funding Plan via SLDS
In collaboration with Nevada Department of Education, CREA is conducting a four-year study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Using the newly modified Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), CREA will conduct an in-depth evaluation of trends in school-level per-pupil expenditures over time. Project outcomes will improve understanding of the shift in school-level expenditures following the transition to Pupil-Centered Funding Plan (PCFP) that will allow Nevada policymakers to make informed decisions about school finance resource allocation.
NVFORWARD
CREA provides evaluation services for NVForward: Innovative Solutions to Address Nevada’s Teacher Shortage, a five-year program within UNLV’s College of Education funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Hawkins grant. By recruiting and supporting school staff from diverse communities and preparing them to become teachers in local schools, this pioneering program addresses teacher shortage as well as diversity and representation in higher education. CREA will assess the progress of project activities and outputs.
The Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP)
CREA provides evaluation services for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-funded research project, Enhancing IDEAS at a Minority- and Hispanic-Serving Institution Through Research and Education for Undeserved Students in Partnership with NASA. In collaboration with scholars from UNLV, the University of Florida, and the NASA Johnson Space Center, the research project endeavors to develop and implement STEM curricula that increases diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and academic success.
HSI Resource Hub: Cultivating and Advancing Best Practices in STEM Education
CREA provides evaluation services for the National Science Foundation-funded research project, HSI Resource Hub: Cultivating and advancing best practices in STEM education at Hispanic-
serving institutions (HSIs) and eHSIs. In collaboration with scholars from the UNLV Colleges of Education, Engineering, and Sciences, the project endeavors to develop a Resource Hub by and for Hispanic Serving Institutions to support student success.
Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program)
CREA provides evaluation services for the National Science Foundation-funded research project, Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions. In collaboration with scholars from UNLV and the College of Southern Nevada, the research project endeavors to enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education and increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate’s or baccalaureate degrees in STEM.
Nevada GEARUP
CREA is partnering with the Nevada Department of Education’s GEAR UP program to evaluate students’ and families’ perceptions of college and career opportunities. The yearlong project includes statewide surveys, data analysis, and reporting to better understand how economic and political factors shape postsecondary and career decisions among Nevada’s high school and first-year college students.
Judicial Performance Evaluation, LVRJ
CREA conducted the Judicial Performance Evaluation of Nevada judges with jurisdiction over Clark County, sponsored by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, supporting informed community decision making with rigorous, nonpartisan data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy: SEBPIL Program
CREA provides professional services to the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy (GOE) and its State Energy Program – Energy Workforce Development (SEPBIL) project. In its SEBPIL Program Gap Analysis and Feasibility study, CREA identified the communities that qualify as disadvantaged (DAC) across the state, assessed availability and gaps in Energy Efficiency Workforce sectors, cross-checked available training and certification programs, and identified other items necessary for further implementation of equitable, data-informed, and community-led clean energy workforce development program throughout the State of Nevada.
CCSD Title I Evaluation: Transformation Network
CREA continues to support external evaluation efforts for the Clark County School District Title I programming. For the 2024-25 school year, the CCSD Transformation Network, a collaborative network of 23 elementary schools committed to serving Southern Nevada’s most vulnerable students. UNLV CREA will analyze the impact that the district’s programming has on students.
An Evaluation of Nevada’s Pupil-Centered Funding Plan
In conjunction with the shift to the new pupil-centered funding formula, the Nevada legislature approved general fund appropriations for an external evaluation to determine the impact of transferring certain state K-12 categorical programs (i.e., Zoom, Victory, and SB 178) into the PCFP and to measure the effect these transfers had on schools and students that the K-12 categorical programs previously targeted. In this report, CREA presents the results of our evaluation of the impact of the Nevada Pupil-Centered Funding Plan.
CCSD Title I Evaluation: Innovative Middle Schools
CREA investigated the impact of teacher recruitment and retention bonuses and performance compensation on academic and non-academic outcomes for CCSD’s Innovative Middle School Program, a three-year pilot program designed to improve student achievement and retain teachers invested in growing and sustaining a positive culture in schools
Futuro Project: Teachers Transforming Nevada’s Children and Families
CREA provides evaluation services for the U.S. Department of Education-funded Futuro Project. In collaboration with scholars from Nevada State College, this research project efforts to provide evidence-based recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills, including increasing understanding of early childhood classrooms and teaching practices and improving the school readiness of EL children.
Supporting Black Student Achievement in Nevada: Opportunities for Growth
In collaboration with the Nevada Department of Education, CREA identified “pockets of excellence” in the state of Nevada, defined as schools experiencing marked growth in improving Black student achievement on the state’s standardized exams. We then conducted in-depth interviews with principals from 10 of those schools to understand evidence-based practices leveraged by school leaders to help improve Black student achievement.
CCSD Title I Evaluation: FEV Tutoring
CREA continues to support external evaluation efforts for Clark County School District programming in Title I schools. In 2023-24, CREA is evaluating the impact of CCSD’s pilot tutoring program—FEV Tutoring, a comprehensive tutoring program that provides 1:1 or small group tutoring with subject matter expertise—on student outcomes at 11 middle schools.