Home

Founded in 1983, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc (APA) is a privately owned company with extensive experience analyzing public education systems and policies. Our mission is to help clients solve problems so they can meet student performance goals and improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of our nation's public schools. We also help our clients understand the fiscal, legal, and policy implications of implementing education reforms, including both short and long-term impacts. Our staff accomplish this mission using a variety of research techniques, including education data analysis, literature reviews, interviews, surveys, panel or focus group discussions, and statistical analyses.

Just a few examples of the types of education issues we address include: the resources and funding schools need to reach student performance expectations; the costs of implementing the No Child Left Behind Act; the types of education practices that our nation's most successful schools use to raise at-risk student achievement; understanding the impacts of school choice; developing innovative ways to compensate teachers and to attract and retain teachers in hard to staff schools; and analyzing the efficiency of district and school resource use.

For a more complete listing of issues we address, please see our services page.  You can also click here for a brief summary of the types of expertise and services APA provides.

 News

Posted on: 07/08/2008
Pennsylvania has signed into law legislation which, based on APA's recommendations, raises funding for public education by nearly $275 million -- an historic increase for the state.  The state also adopted APA's recommendations on how the money can most effectively be distributed to school districts.  These recommendations include recognizing higher costs associated with helping children in poverty and English language learners achieve state performance standards.  They also include cost adjustments that recognize differences in district size and regional cost of living. Click here for APA's full Pennsylvania costing-out report.  Click here for a press release from Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell.