AIR examines 16 successful applications from the Race to the Top District awards. Four trends mark grantees' efforts to implement teaching and learning innovations, including blended learning environments, individualized career readiness plans, and empowering stakeholders.
Documenting and improving early childhood program quality is a national priority, leading to a rapid expansion of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRISs). QRISs document and improve the quality of early childhood education programs and provide clear information to families about their childcare choices. Findings from this study suggest that ...
AIR surveyed school climate in 33 Alaska school districts between 2006 and 2009. Overall school climate increased in these districts at the same time that statewide achievement test results declined—especially for math. This report explores the nature of the relationship between school climate and student achievement over time, concluding that, ...
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District implemented an evidence-based social and emotional learning program—Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS). AIR’s evaluation of the program indicates that student outcomes improved, despite the challenges faced by this complex urban school district, and even with imperfect implementation and uncertain fidelity. ...
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 ...
AIR and Turnaround for Children have authored two white papers to support districts who are applying for the Race to the Top – District (RTTD) competition. The two white papers provide guidelines for establishing foundational conditions as outlined by RTTD and for using a specific set of metrics to measure ...
This report is intended to serve as a consumer guide that helps decision makers sort through claims about which approaches could truly meet the needs of students. It is the most extensive and comprehensive review of elementary school CSR models ever issued.
A qualitative study of nonrespondent addresses to the 2019 administration of the National Household Education Survey was conducted to better understand the drivers of nonresponse to mail-based household surveys in general—and to the NHES in particular—and to provide actionable information on how to combat this growing problem. ...
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.
The science of learning and development (SoLD) is a body of knowledge that describes how people learn and develop. For the SoLD Alliance, AIR has developed a planning tool to assist educators in implementing the Guiding Principles for Equitable Whole Child Design.