Competency-based education makes student mastery of learning goals—rather than seat time—the metric to determine student credit and progression. Take a closer look at how schools implement competency-based education, and how it is related to what students need to learn effectively.
Teachers are the number-one factor in student learning, so preparing and supporting high-quality teachers of computer science is critical. AIR is working with states, districts, and teachers to implement and test three promising strategies to strengthen teacher preparation and development:
In a longitudinal, quasi-experimental study that spanned more than a decade, AIR found that attending a high school with an explicit focus on deeper learning resulted in positive short-term outcomes, but few longer-term outcomes. In this Q&A, AIR Principal Researcher Kristina Zeiser and Senior Researcher Catherine Bitter share insights about ...
Parents, teachers, schools, districts, states, and especially students all want schools that prepare graduates to thrive in the 21st century. In this blog post, Anne Mishkind asks what it means to be "college and career ready."
Exclusionary school discipline policies once instituted to prevent serious infractions have crept into discipline practices for minor issues. Youth who participated in a roundtable on the subject contend that it limits opportunities to learn and compromises academic achievement; is applied disproportionately and subjectively; and deprives students of the ...
Nineteen youths accepted AIR's invitation to talk about how harsh school discipline has impacted them and the risks and challenges of the "school-to-prison" pipeline in front of an audience of policymakers and practitioners who work on juvenile justice and related issues. The participants, ages 16 to 24, spoke ...
This is the second of two conversations by current and former colleagues Robert “Bob” Kim and Terris Ross. Kim, an AIR Institute Fellow, served as deputy assistant secretary in the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama administration. Their first conversation focused on policy ...
State agencies rely on Juvenile Justice Specialists and Compliance Monitors to make sure award recipients spend funds properly and facilities meet certain requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, respectively.
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.
Ensuring strong alignment between quality standards and afterschool programs requires creative thinking, planning, and collaboration. Afterschool programs that align professional development with quality standards can support staff learning and sustain continuous improvement by reinforcing professional standards and practices. ...