Yael Harris leads research projects to advance access, quality, payment reform, and other policies to transform health care delivery. She is involved in a wide-ranging set of health-related projects, including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Quality Indicators, the Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Evaluation, and Project Talent. Learn more about her and her work in this Q&A.

Michelle Yin, Ph.D., works at the nexus of education and labor economics, with a focus on special populations that include people with disabilities, youth at risk of not graduating from high school, and adult literacy learners. Her work provides empirical evidence that helps inform policy, practice, and advocacy.

In 2019, a grant gave Ohio the opportunity to improve literacy outcomes for children from birth through grade 12 and required educators to use relevant evidence-based practices. AIR experts provided education leaders with trainings on ESSA and evidence-based practices and produced several resources, such as a crosswalk aligning the ESSA evidence tiers with the ratings systems of evidence-based clearinghouses.

What should states and districts working on school improvement keep in mind about successful turnaround efforts? AIR experts have identified nine key conditions that led to successful turnaround in Massachusetts that could be useful to education leaders in other states.

Teachers are the number-one factor in student learning, so preparing and supporting high-quality teachers of computer science is critical. AIR is working with states, districts, and teachers to implement and test three promising strategies to strengthen teacher preparation and development:

The Southeast Comprehensive Center developed a series of impact stories to highlight key technical assistance support and positive outcomes related to improving teaching, learning, and capacity building in the five states served in its region: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

The simple act of not attending school consistently increases the likelihood that children will be unable to read well by grade 3, fail classes in middle school, and drop out of high school. Standing in the way of truly addressing chronic absence are three harmful myths.

In this commentary published in the Hill, Dan Goldhaber, AIR vice president and director of CALDER, and John C. White, Louisiana state superintendent of education, discuss the importance of formal mentoring for teachers during their career training.

There are more than 5 million students in Texas, the second-largest state in the U.S. by population and geography. To truly move the dial on education in this highly diverse state, the Texas Comprehensive Center uses a variety of tools and approaches and considers challenges from multiple perspectives. Read through this story map to learn more about the Center's work.

The U.S. Department of Education commissioned AIR to conduct a national study to evaluate how adult education operates at the state and local levels, including who adult education providers are, the services they provide, and the challenges they face. Stephanie Cronen answered some questions about adult education and what the study aims to accomplish.

Patricia Campie is a criminologist with more than 20 years of experience leading community-based research, evaluation, and implementation science initiatives. She is the principal investigator for the Research on Lowering Violence in Schools and Communities (ReSOLV) project, a five-year longitudinal study of the root causes of school violence and community, school, and individual capacities to address them. Here she answers some questions about the project.

David Osher is a leading expert in violence prevention, conditions for learning, school safety, and social and emotional learning. The principal investigator on three national centers, he has written and edited various books and articles, including Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Approach to Supporting Students, with fellow AIR experts Deborah Moroney and Sandra Williamson.

Gretchen Weber is still a teacher at heart. A National Board Certified Teacher, she thinks of herself as a voice for teachers—someone who has walked in their shoes and now hammers on the issues teachers face every day. In our latest Q&A, she explains how we can recognize teachers not just this week, but throughout the year.

Project Talent is the largest, most comprehensive study of high school students ever conducted in the United States. Since its launch in 1960, researchers have continued to collect data on the original participants and now its data are helping AIR researchers study possible risk and protective factors of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Project Talent Director and AIR Vice President Susan Lapham answered a few questions about the project, its history, and its potential influence.

Research has firmly established that the first five years of a child’s life are critical for future success in school and in life, yet a September 2018 report shows that young children’s educational experiences are inconsistent across the U.S. and around the world. The Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators report includes findings on how early childhood education and care varies around the world in terms of approach, enrollment, quality, and teachers’ salaries. Three AIR experts discussed those variations, and excerpts of their conversation appear below.