Areas of Expertise : Special Education
AIR Experts in Education Guide (PDF)
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology (AT) includes any technology item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. AIR evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of devices designed to improve functional capabilities of students with disabilities.
Recent Reports
- National Leaders Explore Technology Issues During NCTI’s 2010 Technology Conference
- The Use of Simulation for Training Teamwork Skills in Health Care
- Toward a Generalized Human Factors Taxonomy for Classifying ASAP Incident Reports, AQP Performance Ratings, and FOQA Output
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Recent Projects
At-risk Populations in the Educational Setting
AIR conducts research and evaluation on individual, school, and community interventions for students who are at risk for poor school and community outcomes. Further, AIR provides consultation and technical assistance for developing and implementing such interventions. AIR’s approaches involve promotion, prevention, early intervention, dropout prevention, and treatment. They are strength-based and child- and youth-guided or driven.
Recent Reports
- Children’s Elementary School Outcomes After Participating in Family Literacy Programs
- National Disability Policy: A Progress Report
- Texas Ninth Grade Transition and Intervention (TNGTI) Grant Program: January 2011 Evaluation Report
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Recent Projects
- New York State Curriculum Audits
- Milwaukee Public Schools Striving Readers Evaluation
- Supplemental Educational Services in Texas
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Recent Products
Classroom Instruction
Understanding and improving classroom instruction is a central component of many of AIR’s evaluation and technical assistance projects. AIR designs high- and low-inference classroom observation tools and, using highly trained observers, conducts observations in a variety of classroom settings. Data on classroom instruction are integrated into recommendations for improving schools and classrooms.
Recent Reports
- Study of Teacher Preparation in Early Reading Instruction
- Expectations and Reports of Homework for Public School Students in the First, Third, and Fifth Grades
- Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement Report
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Recent Projects
- Wisconsin Reading Excellence and Demonstration of Success Initiative (READS)
- Indiana Diagnostic Assessments Study
- Ohio Healthy Schools Profile System
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Recent Products
Cultural Competency
The ability to understand, communicate with, and interact effectively with people from different cultures is an especially important skill to possess in a 21st century global economy. AIR conducts research and evaluation, synthesizes information, develops tools to improve, and provides consultation and technical assistance to increase cultural and linguistic competence in education, mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare, and youth development. AIR’s approaches involve individual and organizational assessment and capacity development, disparity reduction, and the collection and analysis of data.
Recent Reports
Disproportionality Issues in Special Education
AIR plays a leading role in providing states with support for responding to disproportionality in special education through the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)-funded centers such as the National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI), the K-8 Access Center, and the Elementary and Middle School TA Center (EMSTAC). In addition to working with individual states, AIR staff collaborate on this topic with the Harvard Civil Rights Project, presenting at numerous national conferences and providing training to educators in local districts and schools.
Recent Reports
Recent Projects
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
Implementation of Educational Programs and Policies
AIR evaluates the implementation of educational programs, policies, and practices, and provides recommendations to improve implementation. We also look at capacity, challenges, and strategies for scaling up model programs and practices.
Recent Reports
- Instruction Across the High School—College Divide (2009)
- Hawaii Race to the Top Evaluation
- Turnaround Schools in California: Who Are They and What Strategies Do They Use?
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Recent Projects
Mathematics Education
The successful teaching and learning of mathematics plays an increasingly important role in ensuring that U.S. students have the right skills required to compete in a global economy. AIR has development and research expertise in the areas of curriculum review, alignment, and evaluation; research-based instructional practices; effective professional development; the development and alignment of high quality assessments; and international comparisons.
Recent Reports
- Children’s Elementary School Outcomes After Participating in Family Literacy Programs
- Access to Algebra I: The Effects of Online Mathematics for Grade 8 Students
- Eighth-Grade Algebra: Findings From the Eighth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K)
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Recent Projects
- Texas Statewide 21st Century Community Learning Centers
- Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
- The Mathematics Professional Development (PD) Impact Study
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Recent Products
Persons with Disabilities
AIR has nationally recognized experts who address the needs of persons with disabilities, their families, and their service providers. AIR has expertise in federal and state policies in early intervention, special education, and vocational rehabilitation. We are also experts in translating rigorous research into improved practice in states and localities across the country.
Recent Reports
- National Disability Policy: A Progress Report
- Improving Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System
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Recent Projects
Response to Intervention (RTI)
Response to Intervention (RTI) integrates assessment and intervention within a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and to reduce behavior problems. With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and identify students with learning disabilities or other disabilities. AIR is a national leader on response to intervention, validating RTI frameworks for integrating instruction and assessment into rigorous prevention systems. We support states and school districts in implementing RTI with fidelity. Through this work, AIR is helping educators and families achieve the promise of RTI to improve special and general education.
Recent Reports
- The Status of State-level Response to Intervention Policies and Procedures in the West Region States and Five Other States
- Meeting the Needs of Significantly Struggling Learners in High School: A Look at Approaches to Tiered Intervention
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Recent Products
Special Education
AIR has a long history of conducting federal, state, and local projects designed to improve outcomes for children with disabilities, other disadvantaged children, and their families. We analyze and synthesize information related to policy initiatives in special education and early intervention. We assess and develop special education fiscal policy alternatives, measure special education costs, and conduct program evaluations such as the adequate yearly progress of students with disabilities. Additionally, AIR provides technical assistance support for implementing evidence-based practices in each of the 50 states and 10 U.S. territories, as well as in hundreds of local school districts.
Recent Reports
- AIR Experts Author Report on Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in School Accountability Systems
- National Leaders Explore Technology Issues During NCTI’s 2010 Technology Conference
- What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A Focus on Students with Disabilities
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Recent Projects
- The National High School Center
- Center for Special Education Finance (CSEF)
- Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP)
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Recent Products
