Of all the talks that parents should have with their children, a frank conversation about college costs and debt should be the least uncomfortable. In this blog post, Donna Desrochers discusses the importance of talking with teenagers about real college costs and the real life consequences of one of the ...
U.S. colleges and universities are increasingly hiring contingent faculty, or full- and part-time faculty who work on contract. While institutions say doing so saves money, two studies by the Delta Cost Project at AIR find the strategy has not translated into a large overall savings. In this blog post, Deanna ...
Starting in January, the GED got a lot harder; while the overhaul makes sense, doing well now requires a new level of help that too few studying for it can get. In this blog post, Terry Salinger points to the need for adult charter schools and wraparound services to address ...
Research indicates that students who take developmental (remedial) courses in college often struggle to persist in and complete credit-bearing coursework. These findings have spurred a range of reforms, such as corequisites, which provide developmental education support within the same semester as a credit-bearing course. This presentation describes the early findings ...
Are teachers working in charter schools more effective in improving student outcomes compared to teachers working in traditional public schools? In this blog post, Umut Özek, a principal researcher at AIR, describes a new study in which he and his fellow authors examined the disparities in teacher effectiveness between charter ...
A major theme addressed by President Obama is improving low-income students’ access to the nation’s most prestigious campuses. This goal is wrapped in “undermatching”—the idea that low-income students are not applying to the more selective colleges they could attend. But, as this blog post explains, perhaps the more important goal ...
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.
Addressing persistent challenges in education, health care, and workforce requires evidence-backed approaches. For nearly 75 years, AIR has researched key issues and offered insight into the effectiveness of many strategies. Read our policy primer to explore our body of evidence covering issues such as COVID-19, early childhood, school climate, the ...
In this podcast, AIR managing director and youth development expert Dr. Deborah Moroney, based in Chicago, shares what parents should know about out-of-school time programs and resources to support students while they’re not in school.
Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a greater emphasis has been placed on academic development during the afterschool hours. Research has found that students’ participation in afterschool program is beneficial to academic achievement and social adjustment. This report shares the findings of the five-year study conducted ...