The start of the 2022-23 school year marked the beginning of the expansion of California’s transitional kindergarten (TK) program, which provides an additional year of early education prior to traditional kindergarten. Research has shown that transitional kindergarten improves learning for children overall, with especially pronounced benefits for dual language learners. ...
Student achievement depends on an array of factors within and beyond the classroom environment. Even within classrooms, a complex interplay of factors affects achievement. These factors include not only the curriculum but also teaching practices. In this paper, we are interested in two associated pilot programs, consisting of professional development, ...
A December 2015 AIR study finds that Transitional Kindergarten, the first year of a two-year kindergarten program for young five-year-olds in California, appears to improve children’s school readiness in critical areas of academic learning and development. Researchers Karen Manship and Heather Quick explain how and suggest next steps. ...
Studies find that positive approaches to school discipline at all ages can actually improve students' academic performance, and those students are less likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system or have need for behavioral services. These AIR resources support educators in their efforts to transform disciplinary practices in ...
Federal and local governments continue to invest billions of dollars each year in professional development for teachers. Until recently, there has been little rigorous evidence to inform the design and delivery of these programs. This brief outlines the key findings from three random assignment PD evaluation studies and proposes areas ...
For low-income and minority students, education is the key to success and upward mobility. But in the past several decades, evidence shows that education has not been acting as the Great Equalizer. The Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research speaker series is dedicated to bringing to light the most ...
AIR is convening a network of communities from California, Florida, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington that want to develop community-based research-practice partnerships in order to focus educational improvement efforts after the pandemic.
Several national organizations have offered frameworks and resources for planning for the reopening school buildings closed due to COVID-19. Policymakers and practitioners will need a shared understanding of the common whole child terms and phrases as they plan and work to mobilize student supports. This resource provides definitions for key ...
The schoolwide program and the targeted assistance program are two approaches related to the ideas established in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that focused on funding being provided to assist low-achieving students in high-poverty schools. This study compares services and resources provided by each approach and the ways these ...
The purpose of this review was to identify key findings from research regarding mathematics and science educational reform that could inform Microsoft’s philanthropic investments as well as the reform agendas of other school districts.