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Longitudinal Education Studies

Longitudinal data systems are useful tools capable of tracking a variety of student and school information over multiple years, and often in multiple schools. AIR works with a variety of longitudinal education studies, including the following:

  • National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
  • National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS)
  • National Household Education Survey (NHES)
  • National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Latest Work

19 May 2020
Report

Condition of Education Reports

How has the U.S. education system changed over time? What are the characteristics of students and teachers? How does the U.S. education system compare with others around the world? The annual Condition of Education provides data and information on these questions and much more.
Image of dad and small children reading together
14 Apr 2020
Q & A

Troubling Trends in Reading Attitudes: A Q&A with Martin Hooper, Senior Researcher

Martin Hooper analyzes contexts for learning through large-scale assessment data. In this Q&A, he talks about his recent publications highlighting trends in literacy attitudes and practices, including the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. He also discusses how attitudes toward reading have shifted since 2001, in the U.S. and abroad; the implications of these attitude shifts; and how adults can promote reading in children.
Father and daughter taking a survey at kitchen table
5 Aug 2019
In the Field

Four Ways AIR Experts Are Innovating Survey Methodology

A scientific, research-based survey is one of the most unbiased, methodical ways to collect and understand human behavior and opinion. With response rates on the decline, AIR researchers Michael Jackson and Cameron McPhee have conducted research exploring ways to predict survey response, including ways to boost participation among those least likely to respond, as a way to reduce non-responses. Here, they offer four takeaways from their work.
Image of three girls excitedly looking at a book
22 May 2019
Q & A

The Condition of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, Answered

Every spring, the National Center for Education Statistics releases an omnibus report, The Condition of Education. In this Q&A, Jijun Zhang, a senior research analyst at AIR who has worked on this report for a decade, explains how it is compiled, who uses it, and what it can tell us about the state of education—both today and over time.
20 May 2019 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Event

Charter Schools and Their Impacts on Students in the Short and Long Run

This presentation will discuss research on the effects of charter school enrollment on student outcomes. The webinar will include what we know (and don’t know) about the effects of charter school enrollment on both short-run outcomes like student test scores, as well as more recent evidence on long-run outcomes like college enrollment, persistence in college and earnings in the labor market.
12 Apr 2019
Journal Article

Using Response Propensity Modeling to Allocate Noncontingent Incentives in an Address-Based Sample: Evidence from a National Experiment

Monetary incentives are frequently used to improve survey response rates. Using data from the 2016 National Household Education Survey, an address-based sample of U.S. households, this article evaluates an experiment in which the noncontingent incentive amount was determined by a household’s predicted response propensity.
27 Mar 2019 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Event

Socioeconomic Inequality and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from Twenty Years of TIMSS

On March 27th, 2019, AIR hosted a presentation and discussion on the examination of socioeconomic inequality and educational outcomes using evidence from twenty years of data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The webinar presented new insights into how educational inequality has changed in the education systems studied and how such change may relate to the more complex picture of macroeconomic changes in those societies.
Image of presenters at PIAAC conference
28 Feb 2019
Spotlight

Do U.S. Adults Have the Skills Needed to Thrive in the 21st Century? Four PIAAC Studies by AIR

Successfully navigating work and life requires key skills—and the ability to adapt to a fast-changing, digital world. The go-to source for valid, reliable, and actionable data to inform adult education and training is the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the subject of a research-to-practice conference convened by AIR.
6 Feb 2019 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Event

Exploring the Experiences and Skills of Young Adults in the United States

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. On February 6th, 2019, AIR hosted two presentations on the experiences and skills of young adults in the United States.
22 May 2018
Brief

The Summer After Kindergarten: Children’s Experiences by Socioeconomic Characteristics

This Statistics in Brief analyzes student's participation in summer activities compared by two socioeconomic characteristics - household poverty status and parents' highest level of education. Data for socioeconomic characteristics was gathered from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 while data related to summer activity participation was collected from interviews with parents or guardians in the fall of 2011.
31 May 2017 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Event

20 Years of TIMSS: International Trends in Mathematics and Science Achievement, Curriculum, and Instruction

On May 31, 2017 AIR hosted a presentation and discussion on a recently released report using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) titled "20 Years of TIMSS." Since its first administration in 1995, TIMSS has become a prominent assessment of students’ knowledge, skills, and abilities in Mathematics and Science.
5 Oct 2016
Toolkit

Student Attrition Lookup Tool (SALT)

The Student Attrition Lookup Tool (SALT) provides empirical estimates of student mobility rates to help researchers plan for student attrition when conducting studies in U.S. public schools. With SALT, researchers can get student mobility estimates for different student and school subpopulations and for different transition periods from kindergarten to grade 12.
11 Nov 2015
Report

Teacher Attrition and Mobility During the Teach For America Clustering Strategy in Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Teach For America (TFA), the alternative certification program that places intensively selected recent college graduates and midcareer professionals into classrooms serving high-need students, requires a two-year commitment from the corps members it places in regions across the country. This report examines low retention, a major point of criticism directed at the program.
10 Oct 2015
Report

Teach For America Impact Estimates on Nontested Student Outcomes

Despite a large number of studies investigating the Teach for America (TFA) effect on math and English achievement, little is known about nontested outcomes. Using administrative data from Miami-Dade County Public Schools to investigate the relationship between being in a TFA classroom and non-test student outcomes, researchers found suggestive evidence that students taught by TFA teachers in elementary and middle school were less likely to miss school due to unexcused absences and suspensions, compared to non-TFA teachers in the same school.
10 Sep 2015
Report

Crossing the Border? Exploring the Cross-State Mobility of the Teacher Workforce

A considerable amount of research exists on the mobility of teachers within states, but very little is known about the extent to which teachers move from employment in public schools in one state to another. This paper shows levels of cross-state mobility that are drastically lower than levels of within-state mobility, even when accounting for proximity to the border. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that there are significant penalties to cross-state mobility that may be attributable to state-specific licensure regulations, seniority rules, and pension structures.
10 Sep 2015
Report

A Foot in the Door: Exploring the Role of Student Teaching Assignments in Teachers’ Initial Job Placements

The federal government recently directed states to develop plans to reduce inequity in the distribution of teacher quality across schools. Examination of data from Washington state suggests that prospective teachers’ student teaching positions are much more predictive of their first teaching positions than their hometowns, and that more qualified prospective teachers tend to student teach in more advantaged districts.
Zeyu Xu
7 Apr 2015
Blog Post

A First Look at Student Outcomes for Common Core State Standards

In this blog post, Zeyu Xu discusses findings from his study in Kentucky, the first state to implement the Common Core State Standards, from the encouraging findings about student achievement during the transition from the old standards to caveats about whether the achievement gains were caused by the new ones.
17 Nov 2014
Report

Combining Multiple Performance Measures: Do Common Approaches Undermine Districts’ Personnel Evaluation Systems?

Teacher and principal evaluation systems now emerging in response to federal, state, and/or local policy initiatives typically require that a component of teacher evaluation be based on multiple performance metrics, which must be combined to produce summative ratings of teacher effectiveness. This paper investigates whether the bias and error introduced by these approaches erodes the ability of evaluation systems to reliably identify high- and low-performing teachers.
17 Nov 2014
Report

A Closer Look at the Student Achievement Trends in the District of Columbia between 2006-07 and 2012-13

The Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007 in the District of Columbia shifted control of the city’s schools from an elected board to the mayor, created a new state department of education, established the new position of chancellor, and changed other management structures and strategies. This report presents a closer look at the student achievement trends in the District between 2006-07 and 2012-13.
4 Jun 2014
Commentary

Why NAEP Should Go to College

We have no common metric to compare the learning outcomes of colleges and universities and no data to show if students graduating from college can read better than when they finished high school. We also have no data on whether going to an Ivy League school results in higher levels of learning than going to a state-supported school.
20 Feb 2014 | 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Event

Expanding Access to Great Teachers

As the U.S. Department of Education prepares to mandate a more “equitable distribution” of teachers (as excellent educators are encouraged or forced to go from one school to another), what is the best path forward? Join AIR and the Fordham Institute on Feb. 20, 2014 for a debate on the merits of such a policy and on other ways to increase student access to high-quality teachers. AIR Senior Researcher Michael Hansen will present his findings from 'Right-Sizing the Classroom: Making the Most of Great Teachers,' which examines giving excellent teachers more students—and rewarding them appropriately.
23 Jan 2014 to 24 Jan 2014
| 8:00 AM - 3:45 PM
Event

January 23-24, 2014: 7th Annual CALDER Research Conference

On Thursday, January 23rd and Friday, January 24th 2014, the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) will hold its Seventh Annual Research Conference.
22 Jan 2014
Report

America’s College Drop-Out Epidemic: Understanding the College Drop-Out Population

Over 40% of full time four-year college students fail to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years, and many never complete their education. Among other findings, this CALDER Center paper asserts that starting at a community college before transferring to a four-year institution could increase the probability of students completing their bachelor’s degrees.
15 Jan 2014
Report

Right-sizing the Classroom: Making the Most of Great Teachers

This CALDER Center paper examines the value of strategically assigning disproportionately larger classes to the strongest teachers in order to optimize student learning in the face of differential teacher effectiveness.

Project

NAEP Achievement Gaps

Working with the National Center for Education Statistics, AIR produces reports analyzing the achievement gaps in student performance by race/ethnicity in an ongoing project. Two reports have been published, comparing the performance of Black and White and Hispanic and White students respectively, and a third is underway.

25 Aug 2013
Report

Estimating Teacher Contributions to Student Learning: The Role of the School Component

Teachers’ individual contributions to student learning and schools’ contributions are typically intertwined. This paper explores the key issues related to strategies for identifying a value-added model to account for school and teacher contributions that create appropriate incentives for teachers. The authors recommend estimating between-school differences and then considering what part of those
differences should be attributed to teachers.

project talent logo
5 Mar 2013
Report

The Project Talent Twin and Sibling Study

This article, recently published in Twin Research and Human Genetics, focuses on Project Talent’s unique design that includes twins, siblings of twins, and siblings in other families all nested within schools. Project Talent is a national longitudinal study of about 400,000 students who were in grades 9-12 in 1960.
12 Feb 2013 | 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Event

Event: Feb 21 & 22 - Cradle to College and Work: New CALDER Research

On Thursday, February 21st and Friday, February 22nd 2013, the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) will hold its Sixth Annual Research Conference entitled Cradle to College and Work: New CALDER Research.

20 Nov 2012
Report

Selecting Growth Models for School and Teacher Evaluations

The specifics of how growth models should be constructed and used to evaluate schools and teachers is a topic of lively policy debate in states and school districts nationwide. In this paper we take up the question of model choice and examine three competing approaches.

20 Nov 2012
Commentary

CALDER Conversations: Test-Based Measures of Teacher Effectiveness

The use of student test-based measures of teacher effectiveness in personnel decisions, such as tenure, is controversial. It is a major bone of contention in the recent Chicago teacher strike. The conversation here focuses on the uses, value and limitations of these measures, often called value-added measures.

6 Feb 2012
Report

National Evaluation of Title III Implementation Supplemental Report: Exploring Approaches to Setting English Language Proficiency Performance Criteria and Monitoring English Learner Progress

The U.S. Department of Education has released a report examining approaches to setting criteria for measuring the progress of English learners in classrooms as part of a four-year project led by AIR. The report, National Evaluation of Title III Implementation Supplemental Report: Exploring Approaches to Setting English Language Proficiency Performance Criteria and Monitoring English Learner Progress, provides examples of various ways states can use enhanced data systems to address key questions.

30 Nov 2011
Report

Characteristics of Public School Districts in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey

This report presents selected findings from the public school district data file of the 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public, private, and Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE) K–12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

28 Nov 2011
Report

Eighth-Grade Algebra: Findings From the Eighth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K)

This Statistics in Brief provides descriptive statistics on algebra enrollment for the cohort of students in the first-grade class of 1999-2000 who had progressed to eighth grade in the 2006-07 school year.

28 Nov 2011
Report

The Kindergarten Year

This report answers two basic sets of questions about children's knowledge and skill acquisition during the kindergarten year. What gains are children making from the fall of the kindergarten year to the spring of the kindergarten year in their overall reading and mathematics knowledge and skills? What gains are children making in specific knowledge and skills (e.g., recognizing letters, recognizing numbers)?

Project

Special Studies Indicator Reports

Special Studies reports include 35 to 50 indicators on a range of education topics.

Project

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international comparative study of the mathematics and science achievement of fourth- and eighth-graders in the United States and students in the equivalent of fourth and eighth grade in other participating countries.

Project

Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS)

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), sponsored by the NCES, is an integrated sample survey of public and private schools, school districts, principals, teachers, and public school libraries. SASS data, which are collected every four years, inform decision makers and provides researchers with a wealth of relevant data on the nation's elementary and secondary schools. AIR provides support for all aspects of SASS.

Project

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics

The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, a working group of 22 federal agencies, provides information to the public and policy-makers on the well-being of America’s children. For the past 5 years, AIR has supported the Forum to advance knowledge about children’s home environment, economic status, education, health, and behavior.

Project

Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS)

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) program offers the first nationally representative study of early childhood development and education in the United States. The ECLS program currently has three separate longitudinal studies fielded by the National Center for Education Statistics: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99; the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort; the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2010–11.
28 Nov 2010
Report

The Children Born in 2001 at Kindergarten Entry: First Findings From the Kindergarten Data Collections of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)

Using data from the final two rounds of the ECLS-B, a longitudinal study begun in 2001, this First Look provides a snapshot of the demographic characteristics, reading and mathematics knowledge, fine motor skills, school characteristics, and before- and after-school care arrangements of the cohort at the time they first began kindergarten.

4 Aug 2010
Report

Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008-09

This report presents national- and state-level data on student enrollment by grade and by race/ethnicity within grade, the numbers of teachers and other education staff, and several student/staff ratios for the 2008-09 school year.

18 Aug 2009
Report

U.S. Performance Across International Assessments of Student Achievement: Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2009

This special analysis examines the performance of U.S. students in reading, mathematics, and science compared with the performance of their peers in other countries that participated in PIRLS, PISA, and TIMSS in terms of students’ average scores and the percentage of students reaching internationally benchmarked performance levels.

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Project

National Assessment of Adult Literacy

This study examines the literacy skills of adults and compares the literacy skills of workers with different types of training by conducting a data analysis of the 2003 assessment data.

1 Mar 2009
Report

Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2009

This report describes how the education system in the United States compares with education systems in the other G-8 countries--Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom.

1 Sep 2008
Report

Eighth Grade: First Findings From the Final Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K)

This First Look used data collected from the final round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) when most of the cohort was in the eighth grade. This project was intended to provide a snapshot of the eighth-grade round of the ECLS-K and make the data available to encourage more in-depth analysis using more sophisticated statistical methods.

Project

Analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of NCLB (NLS-NCLB) and the Study of State Implementation of Accountability and Teacher Quality Under NCLB (SSI-NCLB)

Together with our partners, AIR has conducted the two largest studies of the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act to date: The National Longitudinal Study of the No Child Left Behind Act (NLS-NCLB) and the Study of State Implementation of NCLB (SSI-NCLB). 

28 Nov 2006
Report

Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)

This report provides descriptive information about children born in the United States in 2001. It presents information on certain child and family characteristics, on children’s mental and physical skills, on children’s first experiences in child care, and on the fathers of these children.

21 Jul 2006
Report

Fathers of U.S. Children Born in 2001: Findings from ECLS-B

This First Look presents information about the biological fathers of children born in the United States in the year 2001.

1 Mar 2006
Report

Fifth Grade: Findings From The Fifth-Grade Follow-up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K)

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K) is following a nationally representative cohort of children from kindergarten and into the later grades. The ECLS-K focuses on children’s school experiences beginning with kindergarten.

1 Jan 2006
Report

The Literacy of America's College Students

With the recent attention on accountability measures for elementary and secondary schools, accountability in institutions of higher education has been all but overlooked. The National Survey of America's College Students (NSACS) is a study that examines the literacy of U.S. college students, providing information on how prepared these students are to continue to learn and use the skills that they will need in the years to come.

1 Jun 2005
Report

Regional Differences in Kindergartners’ Early Education Experiences

This report describes kindergartners’ early education experiences in each of the four regions of the United States. Findings from this report indicate that kindergartners’ preschool experiences and kindergarten program type vary by the regions in which their schools are located and by the regional characteristics of these kindergartners, their families, and their schools.

1 Feb 2002
Report

Participation Trends and Patterns in Adult Education: 1991 to 1999

Using data from the 1991, 1995, and 1999 Adult Education Surveys of the National Household Education Surveys Program to examine participation rates in adult education over time, this report examines participation among different groups of adults for different types of adult education.

1 Feb 2000
Report

America's Kindergartners

This report provides national data on children’s skills, knowledge, and experiences as they enter kindergarten for the first time. The data are the first findings from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99.

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Jane Hannaway

Jane Hannaway

Institute Fellow
Image of George Bohrnstedt

George Bohrnstedt

Senior Vice President and Institute Fellow

EDUCATION

Adult Learning

Afterschool and Expanded Learning

Charter Schools and School Choice

Child Welfare

College and Career Readiness

District and School Improvement

Early Childhood and Child Development

Education Policy

English Learners

Equity in Education

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

International Comparisons in Education

International Early Childhood and Child Development

International Education

International Reading and Literacy

Juvenile Justice

LGBTQ Youth

Mathematics Education

Mentoring

NAEP

Postsecondary Education

Principal Preparation and Performance

Reading and Literacy

School Climate and Safety

School Finance

STEM

Social and Emotional Learning

Special Education

Teacher Preparation and Performance

Technology for Teaching and Learning

Youth Development

Youth-Serving Systems

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

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