Houston Education
Research Consortium

The Houston Education Research Consortium is a research-practice partnership between the Kinder Institute and eight Houston-area school districts to guide data-driven, equity-minded policy. HERC uses a jointly developed research agenda that involves both researchers and school district leaders working together on critical issues to improve educational equity. The research center follows a long-term, rather than project-based, collaboration to solve longstanding problems with a focus on informing decision-makers directly.

Our commitment to Houston ISD
As a new superintendent and Board of Managers are appointed to Houston ISD, Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research remains committed to informing district leadership in its efforts to improve student outcomes. Learn more.

Initiatives

The Equity Project

Student Mobility

Emergent Bilingual Students

Prekindergarten

Study on Social and Emotional Skills

Postsecondary Readiness

Wraparound Needs

Research

Investigating Causal Effects of Arts Education Experiences: Experimental Evidence from Houston's Arts Access Initiative

Researchers found arts-learning experiences benefit students in terms of reductions in disciplinary infractions, increases in compassion for others and improvements in writing achievement.

REPORT: February 12, 2019 EDUCATION

Tracking Eighth-Graders' Postsecondary Outcomes in Harris County

Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC) used the Houston Community Data Connections platform to track hundreds of thousands of Houston-area students' educational and professional careers for 17 years.

DATA DASHBOARD: November 6, 2018 EDUCATION

Predictors of School Discipline

This study examines the likelihood that a student will receive a school disciplinary action, such as in-school or out-of-school suspension.

BRIEF: October 18, 2018 EDUCATION

HISD's Decentralization Reform (Part 2: Principal Survey)

This research brief looks at HISD principal attitudes and satisfaction within the current decentralized model.

BRIEF: May 21, 2018 EDUCATION

Transitioning to College and Work: Where are high school seniors from 2006-2008 now? (Part 1)

This research brief describes the college outcomes of three cohorts of 12th grade students in the Houston Independent School District through descriptive statistics of college enrollment, college completion and annual income.

REPORT: April 9, 2018 EDUCATION

HISD’s Decentralization Reform (Part 1: Policy Analysis)

his research brief is Part I of a four-part series that studies the implementation and impact of the HISD decision to decentralize in the 1990s

BRIEF: February 28, 2018 EDUCATION

Eligiendo Escuelas: English Learners and Access to School Choice

Using data from Houston Independent School District (HISD), researchers examined English learner participation in a system of school choice. Specifically, researchers investigated the extent to which never, current, and former English learners enrolled in a non-zoned HISD school.

BRIEF: November 6, 2017 EDUCATION

Equality of Pre-Kindergarten Educational Opportunities: Examining Student Differences in Access to High Quality Pre-Kindergarten (Parts 1 and 2)

This two-part study confirms the broad variations of pre-kindergarten offerings across the state's largest school district, Houston Independent School District.