The coronavirus pandemic has affected how we live, work, and thrive—and reminded us of the vast inequities that persist in our culture. Research and evidence can be a path forward through these uncertain times and help us improve the lives of individuals, communities, and society. Here are some highlights of ...
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 ...
The recent increased attention to teacher evaluation has raised questions about the relationship between evaluation and student outcomes. This research and policy brief lays out an informal framework for using evaluation results to target professional growth opportunities for teachers within an aligned system of evaluation, leading to higher levels of ...
When teachers learn, students learn. For decades, AIR has conducted studies of teacher professional learning and helped practitioners use evidence to develop, implement, test, and scale professional learning programs.
What kind of research designs would help teacher preparation providers improve their programs? On April 11, 2017 AIR brought together 35 researchers, teacher educators, school district leaders, and other stakeholders to discuss research designs that would answer the kinds of questions that providers have about their programs and how to ...
Having a more effective teacher or principal can substantially improve students’ academic outcomes. This brief examines the effects of using research-based performance measures to evaluate educators and provide them with feedback, and of offering them bonuses based on their performance ratings.
In this brief, the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders examines the impact of the student loan crisis on the teaching profession. We offer potentially promising and sustainable solutions that require reimagining current programming to include cost-effective and responsive solutions.
As district leaders search for the best ways to improve student learning with the Common Core State Standards, some early implementers are giving us an opportunity to learn from their experience.This brief describes Sacramento City Unified School District’s approach to developing units of study that guide teachers’ classroom practice. The ...
The Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) system was designed to provide career pathways and compensation structures to attract, retain and reward effective teachers; to promote continuous improvement in Iowa’s teaching workforce; and to increase student academic achievement. This report updates the Year 1 implementation and outcome findings based on ...
Two efforts that have impacted teachers across the country in recent years are state-mandated teacher evaluation and support systems and statewide adoption of new, more rigorous and focused student learning standards based on the Common Core State Standards. In this brief, AIR explores the level of alignment that exists between ...