American Institutes for Research Experts Play a Major Role in “The Condition of Education 2010” Report

Washington, D.C. – A team of experts for the American Institutes for Research (AIR) played a key role in producing "The Condition of Education 2010," an annual statistical portrait of the state of education in the United States. The report was released by the federal government’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on May 27, 2010, and will be submitted to Congress and the President of the United States.

The congressionally mandated report offers a detailed account of all aspects of U.S. education, from early childhood education and student achievement to post secondary education and school environment. AIR analysts authored many of the indicators found in this edition, working with data from complex survey designs, conducting statistical analysis and testing, and writing key findings. AIR, which designed and produced the report, also developed tools to centralize communication among authors and reviewers.

Documented trends found in the report include teacher pay characteristics, principal incentives, college attainment rates, and students studying abroad. The report incorporates indicators in six main areas:

• special section on high-poverty schools;
• participation in education;
• learner outcomes;
• student effort and educational progress;
• the contexts of elementary and secondary education;
• and the contexts of postsecondary education.

The report features a special section on high-poverty schools. It found that in 2007-08, according to school administrators, about 28 percent of high school graduates from high-poverty schools attended 4-year colleges, compared with 52 percent of high school graduates from low-poverty schools.

The full report is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/.

About AIR

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.