Education

Increasing the effectiveness of education

AIR is committed to increasing the effectiveness of education at all levels through rigorous research and evaluation, training, and technical assistance. Our work spans the learning lifespan—from pre-K to postsecondary education, career readiness, and adult education—and focuses on a wide range of topics, including STEM, social and emotional learning, and state and federal education policies.

Our rigorous, state-of-the-art research and evaluation work provides important evidence for education policymakers and practitioners to use when answering crucial questions about program implementation, challenges, and solutions. Through our policy, practice, and systems change work, our experts help clients address educational issues and challenges at the local, state, national, and international levels by applying evidence-based practices in educational and community settings.

Latest Work

Project

Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools Evaluation

The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools model is a whole-school intervention that aims to promote social inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in their schools through inclusive activities that occur within the normative contexts of the school. Key inclusive strategies include unified sports, inclusive youth leadership, and whole-school awareness and engagement. AIR is studying the impact of the model on schoolwide academic performance, measured by overall school performance on graduation rates and dropout rates.
22 Feb 2019
Report

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018

Disparities in the educational participation and attainment of different racial/ethnic groups in the United States are well documented. This report profiles current conditions and recent trends in the education of students by racial and ethnic group.
12 Feb 2019
ESSA

Navigating ESSA with the AIR Co-Pilot: 13 Key Resources

State and school district leaders, whether relative newcomers to ESSA or entrenched in implementation, will find detailed information on states’ plans, policy, and research on educational practices in AIR’s ESSA Co-Pilot. The following 13 resources were chosen by AIR experts as the best entry point into this broad and deep topic.
Image of RISE logo
8 Feb 2019
Webinar

RISE Webinar Series

The Research on International Studies in Education (RISE) Webinar Series, organized by AIR, showcases research using data from international studies and promotes sharing and discussion about how data-based evidence can be used for improving educational outcomes.
6 Feb 2019
Q & A

A Quick Word With: Katherine Hughes, on Career and Technical Education

Career and technical education (CTE) continues to gain traction with state and national policymakers, researchers, and educators across the country—evidenced by the creation of a federally funded center investigating CTE programs: the Career and Technical Education Research Network. AIR is leading this research network partnership under the direction of principal researcher Katherine Hughes, Ph.D. Hughes answered a few questions about CTE, the research network, and her background.
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