Areas of Expertise
Early Childhood Education
AIR conducts research to assist in the development of programs and policies that aid young children and their families, including many large-scale studies of early care and education programs for states and the federal government. AIR also designs results-based accountability systems for child development programs, conducts statewide assessments of supply and demand for preschool and infant/toddler services, and has developed a Preschool Cost Estimator.
Recent Reports
- Teacher Practice and Student Outcomes in Arts-Integrated Learning Settings: A Review of Literature
- Condition of Children Birth to Age Five and Status of Early Childhood Services in California
- Children’s Elementary School Outcomes After Participating in Family Literacy Programs
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Recent Projects
- Wisconsin Reading Excellence and Demonstration of Success Initiative (READS)
- Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest (REL Midwest)
- The CALDER Center is Now Located at AIR
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Recent Products
Education Adequacy and Equity
AIR economists analyze distributions of federal, state, and local dollars to assess the adequacy of school funding to meet state educational goals and to develop mechanisms to ensure resources are distributed to meet the diverse needs of various student populations.
Recent Reports
- Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Math and Reading
- Successful California Schools in the Context of Educational Adequacy
- Efficiency and Adequacy in California School Finance: A Professional Judgment Approach
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Recent Projects
Education Assessment
AIR offers a full range of assessment services, collaborating with our state and district clients, to develop and deploy customized, criterion-referenced assessment programs to help students learn, teachers teach, and parents know what is happening at school. More information about the full range of assessment activities is provided on the Education Assessment Web page.
Recent Reports
- Psychometric Advances in Alternate Assessment
- Measures and Methods for the National Reporting System for Adult Education
- Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Math and Reading
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Recent Projects
- Egypt’s Education Reform Program
- Center for Special Education Finance (CSEF)
- Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP)
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Recent Products
Education Assessment and Evaluation in Developing Countries
AIR plays a strong role in shaping education assessment and evaluation in developing countries. Our educational assessment work helps to determine what students should know and be able to do in relation to standards and curriculum. AIR’s work includes formative, summative, diagnostic, and international assessment, and is used to measure student or system performance. It is also used for accountability at the school or district level. Our evaluation work involves carefully collecting information about a project or program in order to assess effectiveness and make decisions.
Recent Reports
- Literacy Policy and Practice in Ethiopia: Building on the TELL Program and EGRA Results
- Child Friendly Schools Evaluation: Country Report for Nigeria
- Child Friendly Schools Evaluation: Country Report for Thailand
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Recent Projects
- AIR Helps Honduras Evaluate Academic Performance at the Census Level
- Mejorando el Impacto al Desempeño Estudiantil de Honduras (MIDEH-Honduras)
- Malawi’s Primary School Support Program: A School Fees Pilot (PSSP:SFP)
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Recent Products
Education Finance and Cost Analysis
AIR’s experts have helped establish the national agenda in education finance, leading the development and use of innovative resource allocation and cost models to address a range of education finance and policy issues from early intervention through postsecondary education. Our nationally recognized researchers apply state-of-the-art methods to conduct large-scale studies of resource allocation in education at the federal, state, and local levels. AIR has worked with state policy makers to provide new funding formulas to states or school districts to ensure sufficient resources are available to meet the educational needs of difficult-to-serve student populations.
Recent Reports
- The Price of a Science Ph.D.
- College Spending in a Turbulent Decade: Findings From the Delta Cost Project
- Not Your Mother’s College Affordability Crisis
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Recent Projects
Recent Products
Education Systems Reform in Developing Countries
Bringing sustainable change to underperforming education systems requires a holistic approach. AIR works collaboratively with Ministries of Education of developing countries, development agencies, and donors to coordinate a sector-wide approach to education improvement. Our work supports effective policy dialogue and financing, and strengthens policies and systems for teacher training, school health and nutrition, literacy programs, improvement of the learning environment, and inclusive strategies for learners with disabilities. We build the capacity of education officials and institutions in developing countries to:
- improve their use of data and information for decision-making;
- enhance curriculum development and assessment;
- facilitate changes in public policy;
- increase enrollment of girls and other neglected groups and communities; and
- promote the use of technology in education.
Recent Reports
- Addressing Perception in the Delivery of Education in Conflict and Crisis
- RISE Final Program Report - July 2006 to August 2010
- School Management Committees/Parent-Teacher Councils
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Recent Projects
Recent Products
Education Technology
Technology offers tremendous promise for learning and has ignited the imagination of those who are interested in bringing about revolutionary gains in the achievement of all students. Yet, with this great potential, the use of technology in schools also raises a whole host of challenges, including those related to cost-effectiveness, equity, and safety.
AIR has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure sound investments in technology in education. Our staff evaluate technology-based education programs and curricula, and provide guidance on systems for collecting, analyzing, and using data in making classroom and school data-driven decision making.
Recent Reports
- National Leaders Explore Technology Issues During NCTI’s 2010 Technology Conference
- Changing the Odds: Informing Policy with Research on How Adult Learners Succeed
- The Digital Disconnect
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Recent Projects
- AIR Convenes the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Educator Month
- AIR Convenes the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Educator Month
- Indiana Diagnostic Assessments Study
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Recent Products
Educational Organization and Leadership
Paired with expertise in organizational and leadership theory, AIR boasts a staff that includes several former district and school leaders and works closely with several large- and mid-sized districts conducting evaluation and providing technical assistance that requires an understanding of how educational organizations and leaders work.
Recent Reports
- The Ripple Effect
- Measuring School Climate for Gauging Principal Performance
- Exploratory Study of the HOPE Foundation© Courageous Leadership Academy: Summary of Findings
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Recent Products
Employee Assessment, Testing, and Credentialing
AIR provides assessment solutions for high-stakes testing environments and high-risk occupations. AIR has an exceptional development and quality assurance process that results in high yields for field test items, high levels of validity, and minimal challenges to the face validity of our assessments. Our expertise in validation research, psychometrics, and standard setting enables us to ensure our assessment work exceeds legal and professional standards.
Recent Reports
English Language Learners
AIR operates a center to address the specific needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) by strengthening the connections between knowledge, practice, and policy development. AIR’s work emphasizes integration of English language learning skills across content areas, providing research to inform policy development around best practices for teaching ELLs, and technical assistance to support such practice. Specific topics include access to preschool, alternative assessments, evaluations of relevant federal and state policies, and analysis of effective strategies to improve English language learning.
Recent Reports
- Understanding Patterns and Precursors of ELL Success Subsequent to Reclassification
- Learning from the Past: Drawing on California’s CLAS Experience to Inform Assessment of the Common Core
- Series Overview (Special Series on the Fresno–Long Beach Learning Partnership)
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Recent Projects
- ELL Center's Technical Assistance Related to the Common Core State Standards
- Technical Assistance to New York State Districts for ELLs to Help Turn Around Low-Achieving Schools
- ELLs and the California Collaborative on District Reform
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Recent Products
Evaluation of Educational Programs and Policies
AIR is a national leader in identifying and evaluating education environments and systems both locally and nationally. We help stakeholders determine which policies and practices are most effective in their schools and communities. AIR provides a range of program assessment and evaluation tasks, including: developing evaluation plans; training; technical assistance; formative research; survey design and analysis; and process and outcome evaluations.
Recent Reports
- Instruction Across the High School—College Divide (2009)
- Can Financial Aid Improve Student Success at Louisiana’s Community Colleges?
- Hawaii Race to the Top Evaluation
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Recent Projects
- ELL Policy Analysis and Related Work
- Evaluation of the Massachusetts Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners (RETELL) Initiative
- Evaluation of the TEACh Initiative
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Recent Products
Evidence-Based Research in Education
AIR applies rigorous standards to the review and synthesis of research to determine what approaches to education are based on high quality evidence. Our staff help set standards for the quality of impact studies, through the What Works Clearinghouse and Doing What Works, as well as other federal, foundation, and state projects. AIR also develops tools for analyzing data across studies and manages complex reviews.
Recent Reports
- Hawaii Race to the Top Evaluation
- The Kindergarten Year
- Wisconsin Culturally Responsive Education for All (CREATE) Initiative - Training and Enhancement Initiative
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Recent Projects
- Texas Statewide 21st Century Community Learning Centers
- Wisconsin Reading Excellence and Demonstration of Success Initiative (READS)
- New York State Curriculum Audits
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Recent Products
