Sato Education Consulting is a woman-owned educational research and consulting practice dedicated to helping educators, educational organizations, and policymakers address three fundamental questions:
(1) What works? (2) For whom? (3) How do we know?
Through research, evaluation, consultation, and professional learning, we help clients develop, examine, and apply evidence-informed approaches to educational policy and practice.
Our work spans educational research, assessment, curriculum and resource development, and the design and evaluation of programs and services, with particular expertise in supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
Our Work
Sato Educational Consulting works with educational agencies, organizations, researchers, and developers to address complex questions involving educational research, assessment, instructional practice, and program effectiveness. Engagements range from targeted technical reviews and advisory services to research design, resource development, professional learning, and longer-term consulting projects.
Recent and current consulting work include: member of Technical Advisory Committees for state departments of education and educational organizations; peer reviewer of state assessment systems for the U.S. Department of Education; management and development of English language proficiency standards for English learners with significant cognitive disabilities; facilitation and development of a Theory of Action, Logic Model, and technical manual for English language development programs and assessment; evaluation of accommodations for multi-lingual learners; technical advisor to state departments of education and education agencies; linguistic modification and formative assessment professional development workshops; meeting facilitation; consultation on research strategy and research study design; and grant writing.
Generally the work we engage in includes:
Research-based Design and Development
- Academic content standards
- English language proficiency standards
- Curricula
- Assessments
- Theories of action and frameworks for development and implementation
- Programs and materials for special student populations (e.g., multi-lingual learners, students with disabilities, English learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities)
Research and Evaluation
- Case studies, cognitive interviews, alignment and linking studies, survey research, randomized controlled trials
- Educational resource review and evaluation
- Program evaluation
- Efficacy evaluation
- Evidence reviews
- Validity studies
- Data analysis
- Report writing
Professional Learning, Technical Assistance, and Resource Development
- Professional development and training for parents, teachers, administrators, researchers, and members of the community
- Editorial development and research-to-practice translation
- Meeting facilitation
- Public speaking on education issues
- Project management
- Grant writing
Our Founder and Principal Consultant
Edynn Y. Sato, Ph.D., the company’s founder and principal consultant, has over 30 years of experience in education research, development, and consultation. She is a respected authority on student learning, instruction, and assessment, particularly of culturally and linguistically diverse learners (e.g., multilingual learners) and students with disabilities. Her practical, research-supported approaches to developing and putting into practice various learning, instructional, and assessment products and services has helped educators and students across numerous states in the U.S. as well as internationally.
Dr. Sato has been a leader in and advisor to numerous organizations as well as a valued collaborator with agencies including WestEd, the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA, the Council of the Great City Schools, Pearson, Curriculum Associates, LeapFrog, and CTB/McGraw-Hill. Her work has impacted practice and policy and has addressed the needs of students and educators, local and state education agencies, the federal government, and foreign ministries of education. Her work includes: substantive contribution to the development of California’s English Language Development Standards (adopted in 2012); oversight of or advisor to the development of several state accountability assessments in English language arts, Mathematics, and English language development; substantive contribution to the development of the draft framework for the PISA 2018 Global Competence domain; and co-editing a book on multilingual learners and academic literacies. Dr. Sato’s work has focused on learning and assessment that is accessible, equitable, and fair. She served as a chair of the Diversity Issues in Testing Committee for the National Council on Measurement in Education, is an experienced Peer Reviewer of State Assessments for the U.S. Department of Education, provided a briefing to White House, Senate, and House of Representative staff on English language learner research and policy implications, was a lecturer at San Jose State University, teaching courses on Evaluation and Psychological Foundations to single-subject teacher credential candidates in the university’s College of Education, and served as principal investigator or project director on a number of successful federally-funded projects and multi-million dollar education contracts that primarily focused on serving the needs of multilingual learners and students with disabilities. Over her more than 30 years in education, Dr. Sato has presented and published numerous papers and participated on many national and international panels.
Dr. Sato earned her Bachelors degree from Santa Clara University and her Masters degree and doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
For more information about Dr. Sato, please visit her LinkedIn page at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edynn-sato-ph-d-78047b123/
Our Research-to-Practice Platform: edblogcast.com
We run a related site, edblogcast.com — just a click away at https://www.edblogcast.com. It’s a community exploring emerging technologies, research and practice, and the evolving ethics of change in education.
At edblogcast.com, we translate complex research into accessible insight for educators, researchers, and innovators, connecting credible evidence with ethical reflection. Through concise briefs, podcasts, resources, and discussions, we examine the what, so what, and now what of educational innovation — offering perspectives that are timely, practical, and grounded in responsible inquiry.
Consulting and Collaboration Inquiries
Sato Education Consulting welcomes inquiries from educational agencies, organizations, publishers, researchers, and other partners seeking expertise in educational research, assessment, evaluation, professional learning, and resource development.
Engagements may include targeted reviews, technical consultation, commissioned research and development, editorial collaborations, and longer-term projects. To discuss a potential engagement, Contact Us.