Areas of Expertise
Teacher Preparation and Professional Development
AIR is widely respected for its contributions to the policy discussions around teacher preparation and professional development, including alternative ways of measuring teacher effectiveness and changes in the teaching workforce related to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). We have:
- conducted multi-year evaluations of traditional and alternate route teacher preparation;
- national studies of the impact of professional development on teacher knowledge, practice, and student achievement; and
- research on teacher assignments and student work.
Recent Reports
- Teachers’ Perspectives on Educational Research
- Wisconsin Culturally Responsive Education for All (CREATE) Initiative - Training and Enhancement Initiative
- Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study: Findings After the Second Year of Implementation
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Recent Projects
Teacher Professional Development in Developing Countries
AIR helps teachers in developing countries improve their skills and content knowledge by creating and enhancing learning opportunities for them throughout their careers. We formulate policies to support teachers’ professional development and design, implement, and evaluate programs for teacher learning. AIR’s expertise extends from teachers’ pre-service training in post-secondary institutions to in-service training opportunities, including support through cluster schools and other mechanisms.
Recent Projects
Recent Products
Teacher Quality and Effectiveness
Teachers have the greatest potential to impact student learning, and research has found that student achievement is related to teacher competence. AIR works to better understand and improve teacher effectiveness in the school setting. For example, we evaluate teacher preparation pathways, measure schools’ progress towards having “highly qualified teachers,” develop new teacher compensation strategies, and evaluate professional development approaches and programs. This work includes developing teacher knowledge tests and innovative approaches to measure teacher practice and student outcomes.
Recent Reports
- Teachers’ Perspectives on Educational Research
- Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study: Findings After the Second Year of Implementation
- Study of Teacher Preparation in Early Reading Instruction
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Recent Projects
- Evaluation of the TEACh Initiative
- National Charter School Resource Center
- Indiana Diagnostic Assessments Study
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Recent Products
Team Training
AIR’s team training work focuses on reducing the risk of errors across numerous industries, such as health care, where it is essential that team members be able to maintain their situation awareness, communicate efficiently, and make effective decisions.
AIR staff are developing and evaluating team training for healthcare, aviation, and military workforces including ensuring the national adoption of TeamSTEPPS™ – the federal standard for medical team training programs.
Recent Reports
- The Use of Simulation for Training Teamwork Skills in Health Care
- Post-Training Feedback: The Relative Effectiveness of Team- Versus Instructor-Led Debriefs
- Team Training in Health Care: A Review of Team Training and a Look Toward The Future
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Recent Projects
Technical Assistance
AIR provides technical assistance to help practitioners translate research into practice and policy that improve their results. AIR’s technical assistance work includes training, support in design and development of new tools and interventions, conducting analyses, assisting with implementation, maintaining resource centers and expert databases, bringing communities of practice together, and many other successful support tools.
Recent Reports
- Technical Assistance Partnership Publishes Three New Issue Briefs in Juvenile Justice Resource Series
- An Organizational Guide to Building Health Services Research Capacity
- Benefits of Systems of Care for Child Welfare
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Recent Projects
- State Health Insurance Assistance Programs
- State Training and Technical Assistance Center (STTAC)
- Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center
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Recent Products
Test Development
Supported by state-of-the-art software, AIR’s structured and innovative approach to test development yields tests that provide clean, fair measures of what students know and can do. Our test development team consists of subject-matter experts, most of whom have years of classroom experience. We offer both test development services and support for clients who choose to develop items or tests themselves. More information may be found on our Test Development Web page.
Recent Reports
- AIR Partners with Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium to Create an Online Test Delivery System for States
- Frequently Asked Questions about Curriculum-Based Measurement
- Using Item Difficulty and Item Position to Measure Test Fatigue
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Recent Projects
Test Processing and Logistics
AIR offers a full range of paper-based testing services, from test production through scoring and reporting. Using technology, AIR proves a fast, reliable testing experience, from student registration through printing, shipping, scanning, and scoring. More information may be found on our Test Processing and Logistics Web page.
Recent Reports
Training in Developing Countries
Training is the vehicle used to provide technical support to the educational system. AIR delivers training through different formats including consultation, discussion, presentations, conferences, and workshops. Effective training involves the learners in exploring the issues related to the theme/topic under discussion and provides hands-on-experience and materials that participants can use to demonstrate their understanding.
Recent Projects
- Malawi Teacher Training Activity (MTTA)
- Ukrainian Standardized External Testing Initiative (USETI)
- Reducing Exploitive Child Labor in Mozambique (RECLAIM)
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Recent Products
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provides reliable and timely data on the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. 4th- and 8th-grade students compared to that of students in other countries. AIR’s experts provide analytic support for U.S. participation in TIMSS. This support includes:
- reviews of materials developed to plan and undertake the surveys and assessments;
- reviews of preliminary data files, including restricted-use files; literature reviews;
- maintenance of a virtual library of literature related to the surveys and assessments; and
- development of original materials for planning and undertaking the surveys and assessments.
Recent Reports
- International Benchmarking: State Education Performance Standards
- Informing Grades 1-6 Mathematics Standards Development: What Can Be Learned From High-Performing Hong Kong, Korea, and Singapore
- Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2009
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Recent Projects
Recent Products
