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

10 May 2021
Spotlight

Spotlight on Summertime Experiences

Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders are increasingly aware of the powerful potential for summertime experiences and the need to design, implement, and continuously improve summertime experiences for all.

Project

Identifying and Reducing Gender Bias in STEM: Systematically Synthesizing the Experimental Evidence

Researchers are debating whether biases against women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have reduced over time, persist in nearly all training and career contexts, or vary in more nuanced ways across contexts and STEM fields. AIR is synthesizing four decades of research to understand the postsecondary and workforce contexts in which bias against women in STEM remains especially pernicious and the interventions that can most effectively reduce such biases.
Project

Research, Evaluation, and Technical Assistance for the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) Program

Through the Department of Ed’s Office of Academic Improvement, the 21st CCLC program “supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children.” AIR researchers and technical assistance consultants have a unique connection to and history of making contributions to the program.
Project

Cost Analysis Standards Project (CASP)

To advance the production of high-quality information on the economic costs and benefits of implementing educational and other social programs, experts from AIR, the University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University convened a panel of experts in designing and conducting economic evaluations of educational and social programs to develop the Standards for Economic Evaluation of Educational and Social Programs. The intent of the standards is to make clear for researchers, funders, and consumers of research what constitutes rigorous economic evaluations of educational and social programs.
28 Apr 2021
Q & A

What Educators Need to Know About Students’ Mathematics and Science Achievement

U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students made long-term achievement gains in mathematics, but not in science, according to the U.S. results on the 2019 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study. In this Q&A, AIR’s Tad Johnston, senior technical assistance consultant and a math specialist, and Danielle Ferguson, researcher and a science specialist, offer their insights on what these trends tell us and how educators make practical use of the results.
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