American Institutes for Research

Beatrice Birman is an AIR Institute Fellow with three decades of experience evaluating education programs. Her areas of expertise include federal education policy, programs for students placed at risk, school reform, and teachers' professional development. She has conducted national evaluations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Title I, and the Eisenhower Professional Development Program (for mathematics and science teachers); has studied district and school reform efforts aimed at reducing gaps in student outcomes; and has evaluated numerous policy initiatives including those promoting charter schools, early childhood programs, and the uses of educational technologies. Dr. Birman recently served on a National Research Council committee to evaluate public schools in the District of Columbia, and currently represents AIR on the new DC Education Consortium for Research and Evaluation (DCEdCORE) She also is co-principal investigator of an Institute of Education Sciences study of school turnaround efforts funded through the ESEA School Improvement Grants.

Prior to joining AIR, Dr. Birman was assistant director of education and employment issues for the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She also held a number of positions in the U.S. Department of Education, conducting policy analyses, directing program evaluations, and directing research grants programs for the education of children with disabilities. She recently taught program evaluation at George Washington University and, earlier in her career, taught research methods at Stanford University.