Eric Larsen is a principal economist at AIR, specializing in program and policy evaluation, experimental and quasi-experimental research designs, and teacher and leader effectiveness. He is currently the principal investigator for three evaluations of interventions designed to improve the effectiveness of K–12 school leaders. He is also the exploratory study ...
Since 2007, the MTSS Center has been a national leader in supporting states, districts, and schools across the country in implementing tiered support systems that address students’ academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs.
Response to intervention (RTI) is a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavioral problems. Dia Jackson describes the importance of implementing RTI with fidelity and how she provides coaching and professional development to schools so that they see gains in student achievement. ...
Now that states have started submitting their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans, the hard work of implementation will soon be underway. AIR experts provide evidence-based policy perspectives on ESSA and states’ strategies outlined in their proposed plans.
Jenny Scala is a managing director for AIR. Scala has managed AIR’s early warning system efforts since 2013 and participates in multiple projects using her expertise in using data to inform instructional decision-making across the nation. She currently oversees implementation of AIR’s early warning intervention and monitoring systems (EWIMS) mid-phase ...
Public pension systems in many U.S. states face large funding shortfalls. Movement toward defined contribution (DC) pension structures may reduce the likelihood of future shortfalls. We address some limitations of the existing literature by studying public-sector employees who are enrolled in either a defined benefit (DB) plan or hybrid DB-DC ...
Apprenticeship industry intermediaries work to increase awareness and adoption of apprenticeship programs in a targeted industry sector. Since 2020, AIR has been contracted by the U.S. Department of Labor as an industry intermediary to drive the creation of new apprenticeship programs with the goal to increase and diversify the tech ...
The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program, launched in 2011, offers a rich opportunity to study how a large-scale tuition-voucher program works and to analyze the results it has produced in its first few years. This article describes the results of a four-year study of the Indiana program.
Virginia's vocational rehabilitation agencies offer individuals with disabilities a new way to navigate their careers. Career Pathways for Individuals with Disabilities (CPID) helps individuals with disabilities obtain new skills and credentials to seek employment in competitive, high-demand, high-quality occupations. ...