In 2008, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) launched a diagnostic assessment program in which teachers in Grades K–8 classrooms administered commercially available interim assessments to their students. Results from each test were available to teachers, who were expected to use them to diagnose students’ strengths and weaknesses and adjust ...
In the aftermath of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, education leaders in Pasco County renewed their commitment to improve school safety and student mental health—which, according to research, can also improve academic learning. With guidance from AIR experts, a core team of district and school stakeholders examined research and ...
The Denver Teacher Residency program is a preservice, alternative certification program designed to train teachers to serve in high-need Denver Public Schools. AIR is conducting a five-year evaluation of this program, which is designed to monitor program implementation, measure program effectiveness, and explore program mechanisms. ...
In 2012–13, Newark Public Schools ratified a new teacher contract, the main goal of which is to implement a high-quality measure of teaching effectiveness and use it to support and manage teachers in ways that improve student outcomes. An evaluation of the contract and associated initiatives found that teachers and ...
In an era of increasingly rigorous state standards, teachers at all grade levels face heightened expectations to deepen their students’ understanding of mathematical concepts. This report examines the impact of content-intensive professional development on teachers’ math content knowledge, their instructional practice, and their students’ achievement. ...
AIR, along with several partners, recently completed a large-scale evaluation of statewide professional development academies in Texas. The study provided the Texas Education Agency with critical information about the implementation of the professional development academies provided to teachers through the regional education service centers. ...
The Plan, Do, Study, Act Process is central to the improvement of instructional routines. Watch one of the Better Math Teaching Network members in real time and in a real classroom setting introduce the Plan, Do, Study, Act, or PDSA, process.
This CALDER Center paper examines the value of strategically assigning disproportionately larger classes to the strongest teachers in order to optimize student learning in the face of differential teacher effectiveness. The rationale is straightforward: Larger classes for the best teachers benefit the pupils who are reassigned to them; they also ...
This report is intended to serve as a consumer guide that helps decision makers sort through claims about which approaches could truly meet the needs of students. It is the most extensive and comprehensive review of elementary school CSR models ever issued.