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 ...
Low-performing schools receiving federal School Improvement Grants (SIGs) are likely to show improvement in more areas if the principal demonstrates elements of strategic leadership, according to a multi-year study led by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) on behalf of the Institute of Education Sciences. ...
Principals play a critical role in establishing a school’s climate and culture and in selecting and developing teachers, among other roles. Taken together, the findings in this report suggest that focusing on how to reduce variation in the performance of graduates through training, selection, or other means or how to ...
Community-based services and programs aiming to improve older Americans’ social engagement and quality of life promote health at a fraction of the cost of medical interventions, according to two new briefs by AIR's Center on Aging. These models suggest a win-win pathway to addressing soaring healthcare costs and improving the ...
Jessica Heppen, a nationally recognized expert in education research, policy, and practice, is the president & CEO of AIR. Dr. Heppen been with AIR for 20 years and, in that time, has held several key roles during her tenure.
The Simulated Instruction in Mathematics Study is a pilot study of a new professional development program which leverages new technologies for virtual classroom simulation and tests its use in professional development to support strong instructional practice in middle school mathematics.
Every year, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics releases an annual report, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. AIR subject matter experts have identified some interesting findings from several indicators in the 2019 report’s education domain and explain why they matter. ...
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 multidisciplinary team of experts from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) will participate in the 2023 What Works Global Summit (WWGS) from October 18–20 in Ottawa, Canada. This year’s conference theme, Evidence for Global Challenges, aligns closely with AIR’s commitment to generating evidence that can be used by global ...