Learning Point Associates and the American Institutes for Research Chosen to Evaluate Four Winning i3 Grants
Four Highest Rated Applications Expected to Reach More than 500,000 Students and 10,000 Teachers Throughout the Next Five Years
Washington, D.C. - The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Learning Point Associates were selected by four of the highest rated Investing in Innovation (i3) federal grant applicants to evaluate the efficacy of their programs in improving student achievement and increasing teacher effectiveness. The eMINTS Validation Project, the Teacher Effectiveness and Certification Initiative (TEACh Initiative), the Educator Evaluation for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Consortium, and the Children’s Literacy Initiative will reach more than 500,000 students and 10,000 teachers in rural and urban schools throughout the next five years.
Learning Point Associates joined AIR on August 1, 2010, in a move that enhances the ability of both organizations to conduct cutting-edge education research and provide technical assistance at the federal, state, and local levels.
The i3 competitive grant program awarded $650 million in federal funds on August 4, 2010, for innovative ideas in education. Learning Point Associates will serve as the independent evaluator of the eMINTS Validation Project and the TEACh Initiative. The eMINTS project, run by the University of Missouri, will study the impact of teacher professional development programs on the mathematics and English language arts performance of seventh- and eighth-grade students in rural Missouri school districts. The TEACh Initiative of The New Teacher Project will implement a teacher preparation program in school districts in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Nashville, and Fort Worth.
AIR will evaluate the Children’s Literacy Initiative, awarded a grant to train Grades K–3 teachers in literacy instruction in school districts in Camden, New Jersey; Chicago; Newark; and Philadelphia. The Educator Evaluation for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Consortium was awarded a development grant to implement performance-based teacher evaluation systems in 10 districts in New York and Rhode Island. AIR will provide a formative and summative evaluation of this new effort led by the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation.
“We are honored to be chosen to perform this important work, which will contribute to the effort to improve the way teachers teach and students learn,” said Sol H. Pelavin, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of AIR.
“The evaluations of these innovative programs will shape the field’s understanding of how to increase student achievement and deliver effective teaching,” said Gina Burkhardt, CEO of Learning Point Associates. On September 1, 2010, Burkhardt becomes an executive vice president of AIR and the director of its Education, Human Development and the Workforce Division. “The i3 awards have the potential to change our understanding of what it takes to improve teaching and learning,” Burkhardt added.
About Learning Point Associates
Learning Point Associates is a nationally recognized, nonprofit education research and consulting organization with 25 years of experience working with educators and policymakers to transform education systems and student learning. The organization’s reputation is built on a solid foundation of designing and conducting rigorous and relevant education research and evaluations; developing and delivering tools, services, and resources targeted at pressing education issues; and analyzing and synthesizing education policy trends and practices. Since 1984, Learning Point Associates has operated the regional education laboratory serving the Midwest—initially known as the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and now known as REL Midwest. Learning Point Associates also operates the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, National Charter School Resource Center, Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center, and Great Lakes West Comprehensive Center. For more information, visit www.learningpt.org.
About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is an independent, nonpartisan not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.
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