This paper enters the debate about how U.S. schools might address long-standing disparities in educational and economic opportunities while improving the educational outcomes for all students. The aim is to spark fruitful discussion among educators, policymakers, and researchers.
ESSA provides an opportunity for states to operationalize their college and career readiness vision. This brief provides a policy framework to help states align their college and career readiness definitions with relevant policy provisions under ESSA into one cohesive strategy.
As long as accountability systems have been in place, AIR has conducted research and evaluation on the design and implementation of these policies. Our work spans accountability activities from developing performance indicators to providing supports to districts and schools.
There are no quick fixes or easy solutions to respond to the tragedies that have occurred in schools across the country—but there are evidence-based ways to change school environments so that students and teachers feel safer.
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) represents a fundamental transformation of the way California allocates state funds to school districts and the ways the state expects districts to make decisions about (and report on) the use of these funds. This brief identifies some early lessons about how best to use ...
This brief presents a review of research and current state practices as they relate to measures that Iowa might consider for its federal accountability indicator of school quality or student success—specifically, for inclusion within a composite index of postsecondary readiness.
Competency-based education is an educational approach that focuses on mastery of an expanded set of competencies—rather than seat time—as a measure of student learning. This brief explores how states and districts can define learner competencies that reflect the full range of knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for students to achieve ...
Although teachers understand the critical importance of social-emotional learning for their students’ overall development, few educator evaluation systems explicitly address that type of learning. This brief identifies the instructional practices that promote student social-emotional learning, which in turn are critical for student academic learning; and showcases how three popular teacher ...
This spotlight takes a look at the history of Title I, how the program has changed over time, and how it affects children, schools, families and education policy. Experts weigh in on the program's past and future in interviews, briefs, and blogs.
Social and emotional skills undergird student success—and mold better citizens. Results from the Collaborating Districts Initiative suggest that even modest investments can pay off for individuals, schools, and society. In this policy brief, Kimberly Kendziora and Nick Yoder share the results of the evaluation and offer policy six recommendations for ...