November 9, 2018 - Strategies for Implementing the Teacher Leadership and Compensation Program in Iowa School Districts. The Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) system was designed to provide career pathways and compensation structures to attract, retain, and reward effective teachers; to promote continuous improvement in Iowa’s teaching workforce; and to increase student academic achievement. While working on an independent evaluation, AIR conducted case studies of six purposely selected Iowa school districts to identify promising local strategies for implementing TLC. AIR identified 14 general strategies perceived to be effective across two or more of these districts involved.

November 6, 2018 - Beyond Accountability: Improving the Use of Information to Support Teaching and Learning Through Continuous Improvement Cycles. In this report, AIR experts share their findings from the two-year Beyond Accountability continuous improvement project, which was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. With AIR support, four school districts identified a specific problem of practice and used plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles, an iterative process, to develop, test, and revise their strategies to address that challenge.

November 1, 2018 - What Does Improvement Science Look Like In Real Classrooms? Read about the Better Math Teaching Network, "a community of researchers, teachers and instructional leaders in New England working together to make algebra teaching more student-centered." This KQED story includes the work of AIR managing and principal researchers.

October 23, 2018 - Quick Guide on Making School Climate Improvements. The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments at AIR has created a useful Quick Guide for download. Students who learn in positive learning environments that are safe, supportive, and engaging are more likely to improve academically, participate more fully in the classroom, and develop skills that will help them be successful in school and in life. This Quick Guide provides district and school leaders, teachers, school staff, and other members of the school community with the basics on how to initiate, implement, and sustain school climate improvements.

October 19, 2018 - ESSA│Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)/Response to Intervention (RTI). Across the country local school districts, particularly those challenged by often long-standing achievement gaps and higher mandated standards for student performance, are increasingly turning to tiered system of support frameworks, such as multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and response to intervention (RTI). AIR has gathered our key resources, links to AIR Centers, related work, and further reading on an ESSA Co-Pilot topic page. Keep checking back for further updates.

October 16, 2018 – Maximizing Student Agency: Implementing and Measuring Student Centered Learning Practices. Student agency is the ability to manage one’s learning and can have significant effects on student achievement. For this study, AIR worked with four New Tech Network (NTN) high schools in three states for to determine which teacher practices help or hinder the development of student agency, and whether these practices are effective across educational contexts and with different student subgroups.

October 16, 2018 – Learning with Others: A Study Exploring the Relationship Between Collaboration, Personalization, and Equity - Final Report. Emerging trends suggest that personalization is often equated with individual learning. This approach to personalization often relies heavily on the use of technology to enable students to learn independently and progress at their own pace. This report describes the findings from a study designed to examine how collaboration is linked to personalization and explore racial/ethnic differences in experiences and benefits associated with collaboration.

October 11, 2018 – Understanding the Every Student Succeeds Act: A Parents’ Guide to the Nation’s Landmark Education Law. The U.S. Secretary of Education has released a publication designed to empower parents and guardians in advocating for their students. This short guide covers many topics including testing and tests, accountability, student-focused activities, as well as others.

October 8, 2018 – NDTAC Guide: Meeting the Literacy Needs of Students in Juvenile Justice Facilities Second Edition. This update to the 2010 Literacy Guide expands upon research-based recommendations and strategies designed to help improve life-long literacy outcomes for students. The guide also includes resources that can be used for further support.

September 24, 2018 – Establishing and Sustaining Networked Improvement Communities: Lessons from Michigan and Minnesota. This REL Midwest report provides information on a method that may be used by educators to improve schools—networked improvement communities (NIC). Although there is practical guidance for how NICs should structure their work, few published accounts describe the process of forming a NIC. This report details lessons learned through REL Midwest's experience working with educators to form NICs, and will be the subject of a REL Midwest webinar on October 9.

September 19, 2018 – REL MIDWEST Ask A REL Response. What Does the Research Say About the Relationship Between School Board Practices and Educational Outcomes, Particularly for Students of Color? Following an established REL Midwest protocol, a search was conducted for journal articles and research reports on the relationship between third grade reading proficiency and future academic and other outcomes. Citations, full text links where possible and an abstract, excerpt, or summary written by the study’s author or publisher is provided for each reference. An additional organization to consult is also listed.

September 14, 2018 –  REL MIDWEST Ask A REL Response. What Does the Research Say About the Relationship Between Reading Proficiency by the End of Third Grade and Academic Achievement, College Retention, College and Career Readiness, Incarceration, and High School Dropout? Following an established REL Midwest protocol, a search was conducted for journal articles and research reports on the relationship between third grade reading proficiency and future academic and other outcomes. Citations, full text links where possible and an abstract, excerpt, or summary written by the study’s author or publisher is provided for each reference.

August 17, 2018 - REL MIDWEST Ask A REL Response. What Does the Research Say About the Relationship Between Middle School Configurations (Grades 5–8 or Grades 6–8) and Social-Emotional Development in Comparison to a K–8 Configuration? REL Midwest answers questions using an established protocol. For this response, we conducted a search for research reports and descriptive studies on the relationship between middle school configurations and social emotional development in comparison to a K–8 configuration. Here we share a sampling of the publicly accessible resources on this topic.

August 9, 2018 - Video + Handout: Kindergarten Entry Assessments: What You Need to Know. The REL Midwest at AIR created these resources with the audience of parents, teachers, and policymakers in mind, and focuses on how Kindergarten Entry Assessments can be used as a strong strategy on a path to academic success. During the video, the need for kindergarten entry assessments is discussed and an overview of these assessments is provided. Practical use of the information gathered by the assessments as well as the benefits of use are also supplied.

August 5, 2018 – AIR Awarded Eight IES Education Research Grants. AIR has been awarded eight grants from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that will deepen the knowledge and evidence base and that can be used to improve education. AIR and its partners will use the grants to conduct research on a broad range of educational topics, including social emotional learning, effective teaching, English language learners, and narrowing achievement gaps.

July 25, 2018 - Girls Who Code. AIR’s Tracy Gray spoke with NPR Atlanta affiliate WABE about the value of coding in encouraging students to pursue STEM-related careers. There is a demand for tech-savvy workers and the ability to code is useful regardless of the field students are planning to work within.

July 23, 2018 - Video: Supporting Black Students’ Excellence. Research shows that Black students are less likely to have access to high-level mathematics and science courses, more likely to face harsher school discipline, and more likely to attend schools with higher concentrations of inexperienced teachers compared to their peers. This video highlights a few strategies that are being implemented in schools in Wisconsin to improve the educational outcomes among Black students.

July 21, 2018 - Early Warning Systems in Education. Early warning systems can alert educators that students are struggling well before they fail to meet learning objectives. AIR has led the way in validating early warning indicators to identify those at-risk students—and in supporting educators to use data to provide appropriate interventions to ensure that students are on track to meet educational milestones. AIR connects research and evidence to actionable guidance and tools, including the only evidence-based implementation process for early warning systems. Featured resources include a webinar and focused reports.

July 16, 2018 - Improving Teaching Effectiveness: Final Report. The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative, designed and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was a multiyear effort to dramatically improve student outcomes by increasing students' access to effective teaching. Participating sites adopted measures of teaching effectiveness that included both a teacher's contribution to growth in student achievement and his or her teaching practices assessed with a structured observation rubric. This report describes the findings of this initiative.

July 10, 2018 - Fulfilling the Promise of IDEA. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), enacted over 40 years ago, has changed the landscape for students with disabilities. This document is the report of an exemplary working session consisting of special education experts and stakeholders, convened by AIR, to consider the challenges and opportunities for strengthening special education services and improving student outcomes.

June 22, 2018 - Condition of Education Looks at Changes in the Cost of Nonparental Childcare. AIR assisted the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) in compiling The Condition of Education 2018, a congressionally mandated report that summarizes the latest data on education levels. Early Child Care Arrangements: Choices and Costs is a report spotlight, written by AIR, that uses NCES data to investigate the availability, cost, and other factors in finding good childhood/child care programs.

June 12, 2018 – U.S. Department of Education Announces the Comprehensive Center Network (CC Network) Website. The CC Network website brings together a compilation of more than 700 resources developed by 23 Comprehensive Centers, focused on a broad range of educational initiatives, with over 200 projects currently underway in states across the country. This single portal showcases the many efforts and products created by the Centers and funded by the Department. The new site makes searching by state or topic easier. www.CompCenterNetwork.org

June 08, 2018 - AIR Partners with Tuva, Bringing Interactive Data Analysis to Student Assessments. AIR is partnering with Tuva to expand the capacity of AIR assessments to measure student skill analyzing and interpreting data in realistic, meaningful contexts. AIR will integrate and use Tuva’s powerful, easy-to-use data, graphing and modeling tools to develop items that measure students’ ability to explore, analyze, visualize, and interpret data in real-life contexts.

June 5, 2018 - The Summer After Kindergarten: Children’s Experiences by Socioeconomic Characteristics - This Statistics in Brief investigates contributing factors to achievement gaps in the summer after kindergarten. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), is used to compare participation in summer activities across two socioeconomic characteristics—household poverty status and parents' highest level of education—while information on summer activities was gathered through interviews with parents or guardians in the fall of 2011 when most children had just completed kindergarten.

June 4, 2018 - Developing Work-Based Learning Maps: Data Sets, Indicators, and Sources - Work Based Learning Maps (WBL) maps are created using GIS software that can layer diverse data sets on top of one another. Users looking to answer essential WBL questions can thoughtfully select data sets to identify the factors that will support WBL efforts. This resource highlights data sets and indicators that have been utilized to build out WBL maps to address essential WBL questions.

May 31, 2018 - Teacher Professional Learning Through Teacher Network Program - In a new study,  AIR examines Teacher Network Programs which aim to combine professional development with networking. The goal of the research was to provide an in-depth picture that would describe how teachers engage in networks, what they may gain from participation, and how their learning from network programs may spread throughout their schools.

May 23, 2018 - State of Teacher Preparation: Research Stories from Early Years in the Classroom -  In partnership with REL Midwest, Detroit Public Television presents this 30-minute documentary. The experiences of 3 new Metro Detroit Teachers are shown with veteran teachers, school leaders, researchers, and other invested partners. The need for high quality teacher preparation, clinical experiences that reinforce learning, and ongoing mentorship are highlighted.

May 10, 2018 - Tracking Teacher Effectiveness Gaps Between Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools - In a new AIR study, we examined teacher effectiveness in charter schools and traditional public schools in Florida. To measure individual teachers’ contributions to their students’ test scores, our analysis used the official “value-added scores” calculated by the Florida Department of Education and used throughout the state’s teacher evaluation system.

May 7, 2018 - Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs: Final Report - Both the schoolwide program assistance program and the targeted assistance program were created to aid high-poverty schools in providing supplemental services to low-achieving students. The programs, established at different times, have differing allowcation and resourcing strategies. This study compares services and resources provided by each approach and the ways these approaches go about allocating their resources.

April 24, 2018 - Best Practices, Strategies, and Recommendations for Improving School Climate and Culture focuses on the implementation of ESSA and how topic of school climate is of stronger importance. This report summarizes 15 resources, which describe evidence-based approaches and interventions, that may help to improve school climate and culture. Specific best practices, strategies, and recommendations are detailed, and links to the resources are included in the summaries.

April 10, 2018 - Student Access to Digital Learning Resources Outside of the Classroom uses the most current national representative data sources available, current research in the field, and intervention efforts on a state and local level to examine the research areas highlighted in ESSA and to summarize student access to digital learning resources outside of the classroom.

April 3, 2018 - Aligning Evidence-Based Clearinghouses with the ESSA Tiers of Evidence - This crosswalk document developed by REL Midwest applies the criteria ESSA uses to determine levels of evidence to the standards of existing research clearinghouses. Created for the Ohio Department of Education, it should be valuable to all states as they support districts in implementing ESSA’s requirements. Crosswalk (PDF)

May 7, 2018 - Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs: Final Report Both the schoolwide program assistance program and the targeted assistance program were created to aid high-poverty schools in providing supplemental services to low-achieving students. The programs, established at different times, have differing allowcation and resourcing strategies. This study compares services and resources provided by each approach and the ways these approaches go about allocating their resources.

April 24, 2018 - Best Practices, Strategies, and Recommendations for Improving School Climate and Culture focuses on the implementation of ESSA and how topic of school climate is of stronger importance. This report summarizes 15 resources, which describe evidence-based approaches and interventions, that may help to improve school climate and culture. Specific best practices, strategies, and recommendations are detailed, and links to the resources are included in the summaries.

April 10, 2018 - Student Access to Digital Learning Resources Outside of the Classroom uses the most current national representative data sources available, current research in the field, and intervention efforts on a state and local level to examine the research areas highlighted in ESSA and to summarize student access to digital learning resources outside of the classroom.

April 3, 2018 - Aligning Evidence-Based Clearinghouses with the ESSA Tiers of Evidence - This crosswalk document developed by REL Midwest applies the criteria ESSA uses to determine levels of evidence to the standards of existing research clearinghouses. Created for the Ohio Department of Education, it should be valuable to all states as they support districts in implementing ESSA’s requirements. Crosswalk (PDF)

April 2, 2018 - Assistive Technology Glossary (Spanish version) - This practical resource is designed to assist parents in becoming informed advocates for their child, provides definitions for assistive technology terms found in the educational landscape, and now comes in Spanish. English PDF│Spanish PDF

March 22, 2018 - Early Warning Systems for English Learners: Summary of Technical Assistance Provided to Three Texas Districts - Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southwest provided technical assistance and related activities as part of the Early Warning and Risk Prediction for English Learners (ELs) project. This project aims to leverage current best practice and extant research to provide technical assistance to three districts in building Early Warning Systems (EWSs) that are specific to ELs through an inventory of nine districts currently implementing EWSs with a focus on ELs. This report provides an overview of this work. Full Report

March 12, 2018 - How ESSA and IDEA Can Support College and Career Readiness for Students with Disabilities: Considerations for States - Experts at AIR’s College & Career Readiness & Success Center have created a resource designed to help states consider the opportunities and supports for students with disabilities that are presented by ESSA and IDEA. The brief investigates significant opportunities for college and career students to further postsecondary opportunities; the infographic succinctly depicts key information. Full Brief (PDF) Infographic (PDF)

March 01, 2018 - Continuous Improvement through Networked Improvement Communities: Root Cause Analysis and Theory of Action - AIR experts at REL Midwest have developed a coaching and consulting module designed to help stakeholders explore and identify programs and practices that support the integration of technology in to classroom instruction. These materials are currently being used in Iowa and Module 1 is available online.  Facilitator’s Guide (PDF)   Power Point (PDF)

February 23, 2018 - Understanding the Role of Noncognitive Skills and Environments in Students’ Transitions to High School - Research has identified three outcomes that make a  successful high school transition - 9th grade GPA, absences, and course failures. This study used administrative and survey data from high school students to examine how their perceptions of their noncognitive skills and school environments are related these outcomes.

February 15, 2018 - The Black-White Achievement Gap: A Look at School Composition (Video) - In partnership with the National Center for Education Statistics, AIR examines how eighth-grade achievement data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress relates to the percentage of Black students in a school. The video also discusses the research’s importance amid growing concerns about the re-segregation of schools.

February 12, 2018 -  Initial Spanish Proficiency and English Language Development Among Spanish-speaking English Learner Students in New Mexico - AIR researchers at REL Southwest investigated kindergarten English learner cohorts in New Mexico to examine the connection between initial Spanish proficiency and English language development, as well as grade-level readiness by grade 4 or 5 in English language arts and math.

February 08, 2018 - Trends in Algebra II Completion and Failure Rates for Students Entering Texas Public High Schools - A recent study by REL Southwest examined students’ Algebra II completion and failure rates before and after Texas eliminated Algebra II as a math course requirement for high school graduation. This study examined what percentage of students who entered Texas public high schools from 2007/08 through 2014/15 completed or failed Algebra II by the end of grade 11; examined what other third math courses students took once the Algebra II requirement was dropped; and looked at how districts responded to the changes in the graduation requirements.

February 01, 2018 - Culturally Responsive Practices to Close the Achievement Gap - On a chilly morning in October, teachers and school district staff met in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, to begin a day filled with learning and discussion. Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest’s Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance and the Cooperative Educational Service Agency 1—one of the 12 regional agencies serving Wisconsin’s schools—brought the educators together for Culturally Responsive Practices to Close the Achievement Gap. This day-long conference focused on culturally responsive practices that show promise in boosting educational opportunities for Black students and the research that supports those practices. Presentation slides and agenda >>

January 22, 2018 - Identifying, Defining, and Measuring Social and Emotional Competencies- With the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AIR conducted a comprehensive scan and analysis of social and emotional competency frameworks from over 20 areas of study, spanning from school-based competency development, positive youth development, and character education, to foster care, juvenile justice, and public health. This report provides a database of the diverse frameworks and competencies identified in the scan, as well as related measures, which can serve as a guide for researchers and practitioners who are interested in identifying and making decisions about what social and emotional competency frameworks, competencies, and measures to use in their own work.

January 15, 2018 - Aligning Evaluation: How Much Do Teacher Evaluation Rubrics Emphasize Common Core Instruction? - Researchers at AIR, with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recently analyzed 45 teacher education rubrics from across the country. We scored these rubrics for how well they matched up with an AIR instrument designed to measure alignment to teaching practices associated with Common Core-aligned standards. The goal was to see if the documents used to guide teachers’ year-end evaluations lined up with the messages teachers get about instruction through standards, curriculum materials, and professional development. Read the blog post or see the full report for more information.

January 9, 2018 - From Combat to Collaboration: The Labor-Management Partnership in San José Unified School District - A report released by the California Collaborative on District Reform and AIR explores the way in which the district and union laid the groundwork for a new way of working together, how leaders have continued to foster and deepen the partnership, the day-to-day policies and practices that allow the relationship to flourish, and how collaboration enables the district to better serve its students. Read the full report or executive summary.

January 4, 2018 - The Impact of Providing Performance Feedback to Teachers and Principals - A study released by AIR and the Institute of Education Sciences shows that even small amounts of the right kind of feedback to teachers and principals can have an effect on student achievement in math. The findings are important for states and districts looking for ways to boost educator effectiveness. Read the blog post or the full report.

December 5, 2017 - Developing a College- and Career-Ready Workforce: An Analysis of ESSA, Perkins, and WIOA - Experts at AIR have conducted an analysis that aims to assist states with the increasing focus on efficiency and alignment among state agencies. Our experts have created a brief that provides the identification of opportunities to connect, align, and leverage state policies, programs, and funding across three federal laws. A workbook and interactive tool are also available here.

November 27, 2017 - State Accountability Under ESSA: Fall 2017 Submissions - Policy experts at AIR have closely reviewed the accountability plans submitted to the U. S. Department of Education in fall of 2017. AIR experts summarized key elements in concise profiles and sought to develop comparable categories and terminology across states when possible. 

November 22, 2017- Review of Evidence: Arts Integration Research Through the Lens of the Every Student Succeeds Act examines the diverse array of programs and funding streams that states, local agencies, and schools can leverage to support school improvement and student success.

October 9, 2017 - Preliminary Insights on Early Education in State ESSA Plans is a video featuring portions of a panel of experts discussing their initial thoughts regarding the way Early Childhood Education is addressed in the recently submitted ESSA plans (September 27, 2017).

September 18, 2017 - The U.S. Department of Education set September 18, 2017 as the final submission date for ESSA plans.

August 10, 2017 - Early Warning Indicators is a brief in a series of publications on evidence-based practice that promote college and career readiness in high schools. This series is created by the College and Career Readiness and Success Center at AIR.

July 20, 2017 - The U.S. Department of Education is releasing review comments on ESSA plans submitted this spring. The state plan reviews are posted when available and can be found on the ESSA Plan Submission Page.

June 9, 2017 - In Reflections on State ESSA Plans, AIR experts offer reflections on the plans submitted to the U.S. Dept. of Education as of May 2017.

June 5, 2017- Five Things We Can Learn from Pre-K in Other Countries succinctly summarizes exploratory research that investigates program policies in countries with strong Pre-K participation or increased participation. 

May 22, 2017 - The Policy Center at AIR released an analysis of the first ESSA state plans. Teacher Shortages: Top 10 Ideas from the First State ESSA Plans is the initial publication in a series.

May 12, 2017 - U.S. Department of Education announces submitted ESSA plans ready for peer review.

May 3, 2017 - First cohort of ESSA state plans submitted to U.S Department of Education.

May 2, 2107 - Spending bill emphasizes state option to distribute Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant funding competitively.  Consolidated Appropriations Act enrolled bill. 

March 30 - U.S. Department of Education released Consolidated State Plan Peer Review Criteria and associated powerpoint presentation

March 15 - ED Webinar Presentation:  Revised State Plan Template

March 13 - U.S. Department of Education released a revised template for the ESSA consolidated state plans (Word doc). 

In a letter to chief state school officers, the Secretary stated, " . . . an SEA may either submit a consolidated state plan using the revised consolidated State plan template or an alternative template that addresses each requirement in the revised template and that is developed by the State working with CCSSO."

The Frequently Asked Questions document states, "Each SEA must give its governor 30 days to review the plan it develops in line with the streamlined, revised template."

The Fact Sheet specifies, "The Department recognizes, however, that in some States the Governor may not have time to complete a full 30-day review by April 3, 2017.  Therefore, to be considered during the spring peer review window, a SEA must submit its plan to the Governor for review by at least April 3, 2017, and subsequently submit its plan to the Department no later than the end of the 30 day review period or May 3, 2017, whichever is earlier. In this case, the SEA should notify the Deputy Director of the Office of State Support, Roberta Miceli at Roberta.Miceli@ed.gov, that the State would like to be considered for the April peer review window and include the date on which the SEA provided its consolidated State plan to the Governor for review."

March 7 - GTL Center Releases New Principals Action Plan 
The new GTL Center resource, Principals Action Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Providing All Students With a Well-Rounded and Complete Education (PDF) is an interactive tool designed to guide principals in engaging with state and district leaders as they prepare to submit ESSA consolidated plans and work over the coming years to implement the new law.

February 10 - Secretary DeVos Issues Letter to Chief State School Officers
U.S. Secrectary of Education Betsy DeVos issued a letter regarding the timeline and criteria for state consolidated plans following the freeze of the accountability regulations. More >>

January 31 - On Friday, February 3, 2017 the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) will hold its Tenth Annual Research Conference in Washington, DC.

January 27 - Dept. of Education Postpones ESSA Webinars
See the Calendar of Events (to the right) for an updated schedule.

January 20 - Regulatory Freeze Memo Issued by Trump Administration
In one of his first actions, President Trump issued an order to postpone implementation of many federal regulations that have not yet taken effect for 60 days. This puts the ESSA Accountability and State Plan regulations on hold since their effective date was January 30, 2017. The other two final ESSA assessment regulations were unaffected. More >>

January 11 - Call for ESSA Plan Peer Reviewers (Deadline January 27, 2017)
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is seeking highly qualified individuals to serve in a critical role as peer reviewers of State plans, as required under ESSA...   More >>

January 9 – Department of Education Announces ESSA Webinar Series (see Calendar of Events)