American Institutes for Research

Aleksandra Holod is a developmental psychologist and senior early childhood researcher at AIR. She has over 20 years of experience in child and family policy and practice as a teacher, program administrator, and researcher. She focuses her research on the drivers of children’s early school readiness. She has studied early childhood program quality, teacher training and professional development, and early intervention services. She has also studied public programs serving young children and their families, including public pre-K, child care subsidies, home visiting, income support, and paid family leave.

Dr. Holod applies quantitative research methods to her research studies, including quasi-experimental and experimental designs.  She also conducts research reviews as a What Works Clearinghouse certified reviewer through the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. Her recent studies include randomized control trials of home- and school-based early literacy interventions and early childhood curricula. She has also conducted evaluations of California’s quality rating and improvement system, transitional kindergarten program, welfare reform legislation, and studied the childcare choices of subsidy recipients in New York City. 

Dr. Holod earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Columbia University, where she was a fellow at the National Center for Children and Families and the Columbia Population Research Center.  She received an award from the American Educational Research Association for her dissertation research.