The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation hired APA to estimate the cost of after school, before school, and summer school programs.  In particular, APA: (1) determined the cost of after-school activities; (2) estimated those costs in three states; and (3) explored the ways in which such costs might be included in or addressed by state school finance systems.

In 2005, APA helped Jobs for the Future analyze the long-term return on investment for early college high schools.  APA studied the costs and benefits of these schools, which allow high school students the opportunity to complete credits toward a postsecondary degree while still in high school.  APA analyzed two states that offered the program, including California and New York, and projected a return on investment at two time intervals: 15 years and 25 years after a student graduated from a traditional high school and from an early college site.  APA's study also had the capacity to factor in other important reasons to invest in education, such as decreased incarceration rates and health insurance coverage.

After Kentucky's education system was declared unconstitutional in 1989 by the state's supreme court, APA was hired by the state legislature to develop a new school funding system.  APA designed a procedure for allocating state aid to school districts taking into consideration student need, district wealth, and district tax effort.  APA's recommendations were later adopted into law, and are still in operation today.

In 2008 APA was hired by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation to study the costs and benefits associated with Ohio’s early college high school program.  In addition, APA was asked to conduct a “cost to completion” (CTC) analysis for the program.  APA’s CTC analysis tool measures the program costs associated with attainment of particular student education goals such as earning a high school diploma or associate’s degree.  In this way, the firm can estimate specific, per-dollar returns for every dollar invested in the program.

In late 2008 APA completed a report for Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville examining the impact of state and local taxes and comparing Massachusetts to other states.  The report helps policymakers determine how changes in tax policy might allow new revenues to be generated without harming the state's competitive position with nearby states.

APA has conducted work for the National Center on Education and the Economy to estimate the cost of implementing significant policy changes to the U.S. education system, from preschool through college.  These changes are designed to ensure that larger percentages of students graduate from high school and college with the skills they need to compete effectively in the current worldwide economy.  APA’s work was ultimately incorporated into the report "Tough Choices or Tough Times," which was produced by NCEE’s new Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce.

"When the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce needed help costing out the Commission's Tough Choices or Tough Times recommendations we hired Augenblick, Palaich and Associates. We found that the group was technically gifted, experienced in all aspects of education finance and able to engage in and estimate the sweeping changes called for in the recommendations.  We could not be more pleased!"

In 2001 APA was hired to work in Maryland for the Thornton Commission, a study group formed by the state governor.  APA used multiple research methodologies to estimate the cost that school districts faced in meeting state performance expectations, and helped legislative staff integrate the results of the estimation process into a new statewide school finance system.  The recommendations of the Thornton Commission were forwarded to the state legislature, where they were enacted into law in 2002.  During the course of the project, APA worked closely with a staff group that included people from the state legislative service agency, staff of individual legislators, and staff of the state department of education.

"We hired APA to conduct a county-wide analysis to identify new ways for our school districts to work together and improve performance.  We also wanted to know how our district resource usage compared with others in our state.  APA did an excellent job of gathering information and ideas from our superintendents and other community leaders to provide clear answers to these questions.  The firm was easy to work with and provided the independent, impartial, experienced analysis we needed to help move forward our county's education systems."