A program that uses music, drama and dance to teach young students basic math concepts has demonstrated a significant positive effect equivalent to one to two months of learning, according to a new brief from AIR. The brief builds on the results of a randomized-controlled trial of Wolf Trap’s Early ...
The Texas School Ready! (TSR!) Project consists of communities in which independent districts, Head Start agencies, and child care providers agree to collaborate as partners in providing high-quality instruction to 3- and 4-year-old, income-eligible, at-risk children to promote their readiness for school. AIR was one of three organizations that conducted ...
AIR's Center for Early Learning Systems offers practical tools, resources, and methodologies to assist with planning, implementing, and evaluating preschool and other school readiness programs.
A study looking at the first year of transitional kindergarten in California finds that most districts implemented the new grade level, and that approaches varied widely. Overall, transitional kindergarten appears to provide a different experience than traditional kindergarten, one more appropriate for young learners. ...
Over 60% of children from birth to age 5 in the state of California are dual language learners (DLLs). The First 5 California-funded Dual Language Learner Pilot Study seeks to identify the range and distribution of learning experiences for DLLs in California and to better understand how these experiences are ...
About 39,000 students enrolled this year in California's Transitional Kindergarten program, according to a study by AIR that looks at the program's first year of implementation.
Recent federal and state policies that recognize the benefits of high-quality early childhood education and care have led to a rapid expansion of quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs). This study examined QRISs in use across the Midwest Region to describe approaches that states use in developing and implementing a ...
To understand better how educators and systems can support dual language learners and their families, AIR conducted interviews, surveys, and direct assessments on their experiences and outcomes in California from 2018-2022. The findings from this multifaceted study could inform policy and practice nationwide. ...
The Stretch to Kindergarten program is a six-week school readiness program that serves children with limited prior preschool experience during the summer prior to their kindergarten entry. AIR continued an evaluation of the Stretch to Kindergarten program in Mountain View, California in 2012, the program’s fourth year. ...
While there are many interventions aimed at boosting young children’s language and literacy skills, there are fewer aimed at improving math learning for young children, and even fewer that target children younger than preschool or kindergarten age. AIR and its partners developed the Math4Littles program to help parents and caregivers ...