BAKER • EVALUATION • RESEARCH • CONSULTING

The BERC Group is an independent evaluation, research, and consulting firm focused on putting research into practice. Our mission is to skillfully gather, analyze, and use data to inform, inspire, and improve all learning organizations.

Get Your Students Into and Through College or Career. 

Are your practices aligned with preparing students for College and Career readiness? 

Schools across America are responding to national changes. Curriculum standards are moving towards the Common Core State Standards. Instruction is being measured by Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems. Smarter Balanced and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) are being adopted as the primary assessments. All of these initiatives have been launched to support the new purpose of American Education: College & Career Readiness. Whereas prior educational reforms have attempted to restructure schools, or promote high school competency, the new wave of reform is clearly more rigorous in the attempts to help students become ready for college or their career. These reforms consider a holistic approach that includes students, families, and the community when building a college and career ready system. 
The questions you need to consider are:
  • Do you have the right belief systems in place? 
  • Do you have the right policies in place? 
  • Do you have the right support systems in place?
For more than a decade we have evaluated programs designed to a create college-going culture. From our experience evaluating what works and what clearly does not work, we are uniquely positioned to provide technical assistance in helping schools and school districts create an effective, aligned, college and career system. 

If you are interested in establishing a culture in your schools that supports College and Career Readiness, we can save you time and money! 
  • Identify college eligibility for high school graduate
  • Track college attendance and persistence over time
  • Analyze transcripts to determine college readiness and system alignment issues
  • Analyze course handbooks and registration policies to determine college readiness alignment
  • Design support systems at all grade-levels
  • Create a college readiness dashboard that helps you create an aligned system that gets students into and through college
  • Help you use the College and Career Data Dashboard to set SMART Goals and to track progress
  • Help you discover parent, staff, and student perceptions about College and Career Readiness
  • Track students into and through college
  • Capture college attendance, persistence, and graduation rates
  • See if your STEM program is helping more students receive a college diploma in a STEM field
  • Analyze whether your policy requiring Algebra by 8th grade is having the desired effect
  • Tell you whether your AVID, GLAD, or GEAR-UP programs are impacting college attendance and persistence
  • Tell you what colleges your student attend most 

 Implement a College and Career Readiness System

The three elements of college readiness are college awareness, college eligibility, and college preparedness. Each of these elements are essential, and they must work in concert for students throughout their education. 
College Awareness
Provide students with timely and accurate information about all aspects of college attendance. Teach them how to set educational goals, explore careers, select appropriate middle and high school courses, how to understand college admission requirements, learn about college life, and develop financial plans for college attendance. College awareness is an overarching aspect of college readiness. Present it over time (middle and high school years) and involve stakeholders. Develop an underlying belief that all students must be, and are capable of being, prepared for post-secondary educational opportunities and viable careers.
College Eligibility
Help students complete the necessary courses required for college admissions. Earning a high school diploma does not necessarily ensure that a student has taken the necessary coursework for college or workforce eligibility. No state currently requires such a curriculum of courses.
College Preparedness
Adequately prepare your students to enroll in college and succeed without remediation. College prepared students are more likely to persist in college and be ready for viable employment in the workforce. College preparation involves putting college awareness skills into action to ensure post-secondary success. This means going above and beyond minimally-required coursework. Students who are prepared for college also have the personal and social skills required to succeed in environments where independence is necessary.

Measure Your College Readiness System

Measure the state of your College Readiness System with a College Readiness Dashboard. Analyze the outcomes of previous graduates and use data to make proactive decisions about future graduates.
  • Fraction of the total time and cost of doing it yourself
  • A consistent, tested, and accurate methodology
  • Meaningful and consistent data - enhance with a transcript analysis of your students

    Get a Free Consultation

    Call 425.327.2801 or use the form below to send a message.
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Free Online Report

View the free online report for college attendance, persistence, and graduation data on students in Washington State.
"I have been using BERC's services for tracking the postsecondary enrollment of my district's high school graduates for the past several years. Having previously wrestled with the raw 'reports' provided by the National Clearinghouse for Students, I can attest that the integration and presentation of this information as provided by BERC is a quantum improvement. The BERC reports are clear, expertly summarized, and user-friendly. In addition, BERC has worked closely with me to integrate raw data from a local college that does not report to NSC, thus making the resulting report more comprehensive and valid. This is a service I do not hesitate to recommend."

Dan Wright
Former Director of Research & Assessment, Kansas City Public Schools

Trust a Proven Process

Using a proven process to establish and monitor valid outcome metrics.
  1. Collect. Gather transcripts and other program data.
  2. Analyze. Run the data through statistical analysis.
  3. Interpret. Determine what the results say.
  4. Report. Package the results in an easy-to-read report.
  5. Consult. Provide insights and next steps.