A Brief History of AIR

AIR was founded in 1946 by aviation psychology pioneer John C. Flanagan. From the beginning, AIR experts brought social and behavioral science to government and industry. Rooted in Flanagan’s experience working for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, AIR’s first project led to the development of an innovative aptitude test to select commercial airline pilot candidates. These techniques were adopted broadly by the United States aviation industry, and many are still in use today. 

Throughout its history, AIR’s emphasis has been on conducting credible, objective research, ensuring high quality data and analysis, and being an honest broker of information and evidence. Over the decades, AIR’s range of clients has expanded to include multiple federal government agencies, states, and local entities. AIR has supported our clients in uncovering the evidence they need to advance effective policies in workforce development, education, healthcare, and other sectors. The issues AIR studies are as critical now as they have ever been. All Americans want good schools, high-quality affordable healthcare, safe neighborhoods, and good jobs.  

AIR’s work on education policy and research grew in the era of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. In the early 2000s, AIR contributed to the establishment of an information infrastructure for documenting what works in education and the statistical reporting of education indicators required by Congress, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the annual Condition of Education report.  

Also in the early 2000s, AIR led groundbreaking work on state standardized testing, required by No Child Left Behind and its successor law, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. From an initial, single AIR project grew a large-scale assessment business. By 2018, AIR Assessment held state contracts with about half the states in the U.S., providing testing services to all of the public K-12 schools in those states. At this point, significant R&D investment was required to enable the next stage of growth for the assessment business. To ensure its continued success, AIR sold it to Cambium Learning in 2019.  

The sale of the assessment business allowed AIR to re-focus on its mission to generate and use rigorous evidence to improve lives. In recent years, AIR has expanded its work in health services research and analytic support; workforce development and expansion of economic opportunity; and community safety and well-being. This work in particular has been growing since the first Trump administration.

For example, our health policy experts work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve healthcare quality, reduce costs, increase access, and improve patient experience. Our workforce and labor experts work with the U.S. Department of Labor to strengthen labor laws and worker opportunities in Mexico and Latin America. AIR has also continued to be a leader in education research and technical assistance, contributing evidence that informs policy and practice in teacher training, literacy and math instruction, career and technical education, educational technology, and more. 

In 2024, AIR welcomed a new CEO, chief financial officer, and a revamped executive leadership team. Building on a strong foundation and always evolving, AIR is modernizing its ways of working, partnering, and making a difference. 

As we look to the future, we will hold true to our founder’s vision—to bring social and behavioral science to government and industry to improve lives and make the world a better place. We will continue our work in health, education, workforce development, and community well-being, and explore new areas where our expertise can make a difference. We will leverage new technologies and methods to make our work better, faster, and easier to use, without sacrificing quality or accuracy.