Recent data shows that while students from low-income families began 9th grade with high aspirations of going to college, by junior year their expectations decline considerably. In this blog post, Sakiko Ikoma and Markus Broer argue that closing the enrollment gap between low-income students and their more affluent counterparts means ...
Getting a job is about more than academic performance. In this blog post, Kimberly Kendziora discusses the growing body of research on the importance of social and emotional skills, such as self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills.
Systems to rate the quality of child care and preschool programs are in place or under development in 49 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. In this blog post, Laura Hawkinson and Karen Manship explain that, until validation and evaluation studies are complete, states' varying systems make ...
On February 12th, a New York Times story linked to a video of a teacher in a well-known New York City charter school losing her temper and humiliating a first grader. In this blog post, Angela Minnici and David Osher contend that the video and some reactions to it reveal ...
As ESEA turns 50 this month, the time is ripe to rethink whether the “E” in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is the best place to start. In this blog post, Susan Muenchow discusses the robust research that reveals students are most successful when they get a good jumpstart ...
The Supreme Court recently held that UT Austin’s race-conscious admissions plan is lawful under the Equal Protection Clause. In this blog post, Ben Backes discusses what this does (and does not) mean.
Last Friday, President Obama announced a plan to make community college free for millions of students. Andrew Gillen and Thomas Weko argue the pros and cons of the plan.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states the authority and flexibility to turn around their lowest performing schools. In this blog post, Allison Gandhi asks if states can succeed where federal policy requirements have run into walls, using the success of the Massachusetts Wraparound Zone initiative as an example. ...
A two-part roundtable discussion hosted by the AIR Equity Initiative explored efforts to enhance equitable public safety and policing experiences that promote safe communities for all. In this second part of the discussion, panelists highlighted the importance of deep and meaningful engagement with communities to strengthen research, practice, and investment ...
Competency-based education (CBE) sets the bar high for all students—but offers personalized support and allows each student to move at his or her own pace. In this blog post, Wendy Surr, an author of AIR’s new study examining CBE policies and practices for ninth graders in 18 high schools in ...