Given the rapid policy diffusion of the edTPA, a performance-based, subject-specific assessment of teacher candidates, it is surprising that there is currently no existing large-scale research linking it to outcomes for inservice teachers and their students. This report uses longitudinal data from Washington State that include information on teacher candidates’ ...
When teachers learn, students learn. For decades, AIR has conducted studies of teacher professional learning and helped practitioners use evidence to develop, implement, test, and scale professional learning programs.
Informing practice with the best research and making research more relevant to practice are easier said than done. Making a tangible difference in people’s lives is harder still. In this series of short commentaries, AIR experts reflect on ways to meet the challenge.
The Office of Head Start developed the Early Learning Mentor Coach initiative to improve practices in Head Start programs. AIR conducted a study to describe the objectives, activities, approaches, strategies and other aspects of the initiative.
Grantees hired coaches who provided on-the-job guidance, training and technical assistance to Head Start staff. ...
Supported by federal funds, California is developing a comprehensive statewide plan for an integrated early learning system, the California Comprehensive Early Learning Plan (CCELP). In support of the development of this plan, AIR compiled a report describing statistics on the condition of children in California, and ...
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. ...
It is well documented that teacher quality is the most important school-based factor associated with improving student achievement. Researchers found that the school context in which student teaching occurs has important implications for the later outcomes of teachers and their students.
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 ...
The Texas Legislature passed a mandate to create several school interventions designed to develop strong and effective school leaders, and funded the Texas Principal Excellence Program (TxPEP) to improve student academic achievement, graduation rates, and teacher retention by improving leadership skills. Specifically, the program was designed to help principals learn ...
In early warning systems, educators systematically identify students who show signs of being at risk for dropping out of school. This video series, a collaborative effort by the Great Lakes Comprehensive Center and the Michigan Department of Education, covers the process of installing the Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System ...