About Us

Each and Every Client

EvalSolutions is a client-centered organization. While the vast experiences of the director, Dr. Elizabeth Oyer, and key partners provide a wealth of resources, the unique needs of individual projects are always at the core of all evaluation services.

Organization Bio

EvalSolutions was established in 2001 as a full-service organization providing evaluation consultation for state, regional, and local education agencies. Current and past clients include state departments of education, regional education cooperatives and service centers, private foundations, as well as individual school districts with federal or state grant awards.

Evaluation Philosophy

Regardless of the budget and scale of the evaluation, several "truths" are evident. First, there are a variety of methodologies and models of evaluation. The most appropriate, valid approach to a specific evaluation emerges from the goals and objectives of the project, intervention, or curriculum and may be a combination of different models. In addition, empirical and interpretive methodologies address different, equally relevant questions in an evaluation. Neither approach should be summarily excluded without considering their possible contributions to the primary goals and questions driving the evaluation. Finally, effective evaluation incorporates an appropriate evaluation model, with strategies evolving from a clear understanding of the participants and context, utilizing appropriate measurement and analyses in a planned, efficient manner.

Director Bio

As an evaluation specialist, Dr. Elizabeth Oyer provides a wide range of evaluation consulting services from the proposal phase through the final reporting stages of your grant or project. Dr. Oyer specializes in working with educators and service providers who need external support for designing or implementing effective, meaningful evaluation solutions for their projects. Her past undergraduate and graduate level teaching experience has provided her with the expertise to translate complex research concepts into understandable, applied terms for non-researchers.

Dr. Oyer's education and professional experience has focused on empirical and interpretive research and specifically the use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in evaluation. Highlights include:

Ph.D. Indiana University, Educational Psychology, Minor in Instructional Systems Technology
MS Indiana University, Educational Psychology
BA Purdue University, Psychology and Communications

As an independent evaluator, her professional experiences include evaluation of state programs in educational technology and Advanced Placement as well as local evaluation for technology-related projects at the elementary, high school, and higher education level as well as for teacher professional development programs. In addition, she has evaluated reading outcomes for children participating in inquiry-based curricula, programs for high school students taking online classes as well as teacher technology integration and literacy. Finally, she has conducted several longitudinal studies of federally-funded projects for American History interventions throughout the Ohio Valley in Kentucky.

At the University of Illinois at Chicago, she was the evaluation coordinator for a large, 14-school, longitudinal study. She managed and participated in all measurement design, data collection, and training activities as well as contributing to grant writing and data analysis for the project. Evaluation for the project included both empirical and interpretive methodologies.

At the University of Chicago, she was a research specialist for a variety of large, national longitudinal survey projects. Her duties ranged from survey construction and data management to developing training materials and managing field staff.

Key Partners

The professional partnerships established by Dr. Oyer are vital to providing the full range of evaluation services offered by EvalSolutions. While Dr. Oyer acts as the sole evaluator on many projects, for some clients, there is a need to collaborate with professional peers and support staff to provide the most effective evaluation solutions.

EvalSolutions's partners include other evaluators with whom Dr. Oyer has personal experience and trust. In addition, while some technical solutions are provided directly by Dr. Oyer, more complex data warehousing and management services require the experience of her degreed associates in the computing industry. Finally, administrative support for clerical tasks is available when local resources and infrastructure require reinforcement.