Choosing an effective school principal is one of the most significant decisions that a superintendent or school board can make, as new leadership can propel a district forward in meeting its goals. In this issue brief, AIR staff review the research and summarize the challenges facing school superintendents and hiring ...
School principals are second only to classroom teachers as the most influential school factor in student achievement. For the lowest-performing schools, strong leadership—including setting and maintaining direction—plays a key role in turning around schools' performance and improving student outcomes. Assessing the performance of principals is essential given the position's critical ...
Federal financial aid is critical to millions of college students’ success each year. Making it possible for policy researchers to leverage the data resources of the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office holds the potential to find ways to help even more students succeed. This report outlines six recommendations ...
School Improvement Grants are provided by the Department of Education in an attempt to raise the achievement of students in the state’s lowest-performing schools. The purpose of this report is to describe several state-developed alternative intervention models approved by the Department of Education. ...
Research shows that principals are a significant school-level factor affecting student achievement, second only to classroom teachers. This Principal Talent Management (PTM) Framework is a guide to help school district leaders and policymakers by supporting efforts to strengthen the policies and practices districts use to attract, support, and retain the ...
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 recent years, states and school districts in the Midwest Region have developed new evaluation models that hold principals accountable for their contributions to student achievement. This study examines whether teacher and student feedback surveys to evaluate principals based on school conditions promote better teaching and learning. ...
This spotlight takes a look at the history of Title I, how the program has changed over time, and how it affects children, schools, families and education policy. Experts weigh in on the program's past and future in interviews, briefs, and blogs.
Social and emotional learning (SEL) develops people’s ability to make successful life choices, to achieve academically, and to be college and career ready. In this video, Nick Yoder explains how SEL can help students and what research says about its effectiveness.
Implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) presented policymakers and stakeholders with opportunities to improve outcomes for schools and students as well as teachers and leaders. AIR worked with districts and states to help them navigate the most current information, key topics, and research-based resources for planning and implementing ESSA ...