AIR conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the heterogeneity in mathematics intervention effects by synthesizing 25 years of randomized experiments of interventions designed to improve mathematics achievement in Grades K-12. The goal of this project was to better understand the conditions and contexts for why one study may find that a mathematics intervention works while another study on the same intervention may not find that it works. We developed an interactive web application that allows users to explore the pool of mathematics intervention effects and answer these questions for themselves.

Project Director:  Martyna Citkowicz

Project Investigators:  Ryan Williams, Jim Lindsay

Subject:  Education, Math

Population:  Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12)

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), the standard bearer for effectiveness research in education, conducts its work through multiple contracts. AIR holds the Statistics, Website, and Training (SWAT) contract, which provides coordination vitally important to the success of the WWC by centrally updating WWC policies and procedures, providing training and technical assistance, conducting quality checks of WWC products, supporting users through a website and Help Desk, and communicating with one voice to WWC contributors, users, and stakeholders.

Project Director:  Joshua Polanin

Project Investigators:

Subject:  Education

Project Type:  WWC review

The goal of this project is to synthesize the literature on the effects of college aid on student's college success. After conducting a wide-ranging, comprehensive systematic review, the search yielded over 100 studies. The final results are in process and expected to be released in 2021.

Project Director:  Joshua Polanin

Project Investigators:  Joshua Polanin

Subject:  Education

Population:  Postsecondary

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

AIR is conducting a systematic review of the literature, scanning advising policies and practices that colleges use to improve student outcomes, and conducting a gap analysis that compares the findings from the scan and from the systematic review to identify gaps in the research evidence. The goal of this project is to take stock of what we know about successful strategies to improve college completion and where gaps exists between research and current policy and practice.

Project Director:  Amy Feygin

Project Investigators:  Amy Feygin

Subject:  Education

Population:  Postsecondary

Project Type:  Systematic literature review

The goal of this project was to implement a systematic alignment model (SAM) to conduct a systematic review and analysis for improving teaching and learning in adult education and to illustrate how various adult education national activities converge to support high quality teaching and improved learning for low-skilled adults. The objective was to position states to better integrate adult educational reform initiatives, materials, methods, and resources in order to strategically maximize systemic inputs, outputs, and outcomes for low-skilled adults.

Project Director:  Anestine E. Hector-Mason

Project Investigators:

Subject:  Education

Population:  Adults (ages 18+)

Project Type:  Systematic literature review

In partnership with the San Mateo County Office of Education, the Glen Price Group, and consultant Elliot Regenstein, AIR supported the development of a California Comprehensive Early Learning Plan. This plan addressed the entire range of policies and programs affecting children from birth to age 5 and was required by the  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA's) funds supporting the State Advisory Council on early learning. AIR’s role was to compile data from multiple sources and complete a meta-analysis on the status of children and early learning opportunities in California.

Project Director:  Susan K. Muenchow

Project Investigators:  Susan Muenchow, Karen Manship

Subject:  Education

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten

Project Type:  Meta-analysis

The goal of this project was to launch and study an innovative way to examine professional development offered to K-12 mathematics teachers. AIR coded and analyzed descriptive data on mathematics professional development (MPD) designs, and compared similarities and differences across various design models.

Project Director:  Kwang S. Yoon

Project Investigators:  Kwang S. Yoon

Subject:  Education, Math, Professional Development

Population:  Adults (ages 18+)

Project Type:  Systematic literature review

The Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at AIR was one of 15 regional comprehensive centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education (2012-2019). The center provided training and technical assistance to state education agencies (SEAs) to enable them to assist school districts and schools in the implementation and administration of programs authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the use of research-based information and strategies. The SECC worked closely with SEAs in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina to support their efforts to implement, scale up, and sustain initiatives statewide and to lead and support their school districts and schools in improving student outcomes.

Project Director:  Beth Howard-Brown

Project Investigators:

Subject:  Education, Math, Science, School Improvement

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), Postsecondary

Project Type:  ESSA, Knowledge translation, Systematic literature review, Training

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network at AIR seeks to expand the evidence base on the impact of CTE programs on student outcomes by using research and training to develop the next generation of CTE researchers.

Project Director:  Katherine Hughes

Project Investigators:  Katherine Hughes

Subject:  Education, Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Population:  High school (Grades 9 – 12), Postsecondary, Teens (ages 13 – 17), Adults (ages 18+)

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

AIR conducted two evidence reviews on student outcomes associated with arts instruction. The first review examined the effects of arts integration (i.e., the use of art to enhance instruction in the main academic curricular areas) on students' academic outcomes. The second review examined normal arts instruction (i.e., fine arts, performing arts) on student outcomes. For each review, studies with findings that fell into Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Tiers 1, 2, or 3 were meta-analyzed.

Project Director:  Meredith Ludwig

Project Investigators:  Meredith Ludwig, Jim Lindsay

Subject:  Education, Art

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12)

Project Type:  ESSA, Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

AIR conducted a literature review to synthesize the results of studies published since 2008 that examined the degree to which afterschool and youth development programs have an impact on participating youth. The goal of this project was to provide the U.S. Department of Education with recommendations for new Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) measures for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

Project Director:  Neil Naftzger

Project Investigators:  Neil Naftzger

Subject:  Education, After School Programs

Population:  Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), Economically disadvantaged

Project Type:  Systematic literature review

AIR staff who are certified What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewers performed preliminary reviews of several literacy programs, including the Heinemann Leveled Literacy Program, prior to the publishers’ submission of the programs for the formal review. Using the WWC standards for review, the AIR reviewers read published journal articles and prepared reports predicting how the product would be rated when subjected to the U.S. Department of Education review process.

Project Director:  Terry S. Salinger

Subject:  Education, English Language Arts (ELA)

Population:  Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5)

Project Type:  WWC review

AIR partnered with the Boston Foundation and a consortium of school and district leaders across district, charter, and private schools to co-create a model of postsecondary readiness for Boston students. The project team conducted a review of research on postsecondary readiness from the literature as well as interviews with current experts. The result was a report on academic, non-academic (or soft skills), and other factors that predict postsecondary readiness.

Project Director:  Matthew Welch

Project Investigators:  Susan Therriault

Subject:  Education

Population:  High school (Grades 9 – 12), Postsecondary

Project Type:  Systematic literature review

AIR conducted a systematic review of continuous improvement studies in educational settings. The goal of this project was to understand how researchers in the field have defined continuous improvement, the foci of their continuous improvement efforts, the composition of continuous improvement teams, the processes used to implement continuous improvement, the features that appeared to facilitate implementation, the outcomes, and the process by which continuous improvement is diffused to others.

Project Director:  Ryan Eisner, Julie Kochanek

Project Investigators:  Mike Garet

Subject:  Education, Continuous Improvement

Population:  Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), Postsecondary

Project Type:  Systematic literature review

AIR is conducting two meta-analyses by synthesizing more than 25 years of empirical research across the world to study the origins of beliefs and motivational processes that could potentially limit the full participation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The goal of this project is to clarify mixed findings about how gender stereotypes about STEM abilities first develop and how these stereotypes relate to gender gaps in STEM by analyzing variation in (a) mean levels of children's gender stereotypes about STEM abilities, and (b) these stereotypes relation to motivational STEM outcomes such as confidence and interests.

Project Director:  David Miller

Project Investigators:  David Miller, Courtney Tanenbaum

Subject:  Education, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), Children (ages 3 – 12), Teens (ages 13 – 17)

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

AIR conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized experiments of interventions directed at classroom practice in Grades K-12. The goal of this project was to understand how responsive a teachers' classroom practice is to intervention and whether particular intervention features were associated with improvements in classroom practice outcomes.

Project Director:  Martyna Citkowicz

Project Investigators:  Rachel Garrett, Martyna Citkowicz, Ryan Williams

Subject:  Education, Professional Development

Population:  Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12)

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

AIR is conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine sources of heterogeneity in English learner program effects. This study will focus on the following broad sources of effect heterogeneity: student, teacher, or school characteristics; program type and program features; outcomes; settings or context; and design and methodological features.

Project Director:  Ryan Williams

Project Investigators:  Ryan Williams, Rachel Garrett, Joshua Polanin

Subject:  Education

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), English learners

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

In partnership with the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Appalachia, AIR conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of increased learning time—extending either the school day or school year—on student academic and nonacademic outcomes. Only studies that met What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards were included, resulting in a pool of 30 studies.

Project Director:  Jim Lindsay

Project Investigators:  Yael Kidron, Jim Lindsay

Subject:  Education

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), Children (ages 3 – 12), Teens (ages 13 – 17), Economically disadvantaged

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

Those favoring continued funding for programs that increase children’s access to print material use findings from four disparate lines of research to support their argument, rather than direct evidence of program impacts. AIR conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine whether the efficacy of such programs is supported by direct evidence.

Project Director:  Jim Lindsay

Project Investigators:  Jim Lindsay

Subject:  Education, English Language Arts (ELA)

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), Infants/toddlers (ages 0 – 3), Children (ages 3 – 12), Teens (ages 13 – 17), English learners, Economically disadvantaged

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Systematic literature review

Despite the large number of forcibly displaced people worldwide (more than 79 million as of December 2019), evidence on strategies for including displaced populations into host country national education systems is scarce. To address this evidence gap, the World Bank, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) commissioned a research program to enhance understanding of ways to improve education and learning outcomes for forcibly displaced populations and host communities living in poverty, exclusion, or distress. AIR conducted a rigorous evidence synthesis and intervention mapping to systematically examine the available evidence and current programs in forced displacement contexts, and will conduct case studies to offer an in-depth review of policies and programs that support the inclusion of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in national education systems.

Project Director:  Andrea Coombes

Project Investigators:  Thomas de Hoop, Hannah Ring

Subject:  Education, Refugees

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12), Postsecondary, Infants/toddlers (ages 0 – 3), Children (ages 3 – 12)

Project Type:  Systematic literature review

AIR is conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effectiveness of the 5E (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation) instructional model on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outcomes of students in Grades PreK-12. The project team also will create an open source, user-friendly data extraction and analysis tool for researchers conducting meta-analyses. The meta-analysis will inform the design of STEM interventions, and the meta-analytic tool will advance the field of systematic review and meta-analysis by streamlining the meta-analysis process and building in state-of-the-art techniques for meta-analysts.

Project Director:  Megan Austin

Project Investigators:  Joshua Polanin, Ryan Williams

Subject:  Education, Science

Population:  Early Childhood Education/Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary school (Grades 1 – 5), Middle school (Grades 6 – 8), High school (Grades 9 – 12)

Project Type:  Meta-analysis, Methodology, Systematic literature review