Attaining some kind of college degree is the surest way to improve one’s earnings in the United States. But many college students earn credentials with little labor market value or don’t attain any credential at all. Many—especially in our community colleges—could get into better colleges than they end up attending. ...
Three years into a program offering cash grants to some of rural Zambia’s poorest families, the program continues to reduce poverty and increase economic security, but one critical need is still unmet because so few services are offered in the region: improving the nutrition and health of young children. The ...
Jill Walston is a principal researcher at the American Institutes for Research. Dr. Walston leads quantitative research and technical assistance projects mainly for the Midwest and the Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) programs, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Dr. Walston serves as the project director for AIR’s ...
Robert Nathenson is a senior researcher at AIR. He has over 10 years of experience in the execution of rigorous econometric and behavioral science techniques to applied policy questions in the postsecondary education, pre-k-12 education, and health fields. Dr. Nathenson regularly conducts research using both experimental and quasi-experimental designs. His ...
The Florida Network for School Improvement (FNSI) is a community of schools focused on improving math proficiency for Black and Latino/a students and students experiencing poverty. Participating schools work together to address challenges related to student outcomes by employing continuous improvement cycles that aim to identify, test, and refine instructional ...
How can we curtail extreme poverty? It’s a question weighing on governments around the world. In the Republic of Zambia, the answer is one household at a time. The Child Grant program supported the country's lowest-income households and demonstrated a number of successes after three years, including increased food consumption ...
Jessica Heppen, a nationally recognized expert in education research, policy, and practice, is the president & CEO of AIR. Dr. Heppen been with AIR for 20 years and, in that time, has held several key roles during her tenure.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as an urgent call for action to encourage all countries to work on ending poverty while improving health and education, reducing inequality, stimulating economic growth, and addressing climate change. With the endpoint of 2030 approaching, it is critical to assess progress toward the ...
Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers are uniquely positioned to improve college and career readiness for all students, and yet major federal and state education reforms, such as the Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluation and ESEA flexibility have paid insufficient attention to direct supports for CTE teachers.
This brief is ...
The AIR Equity Initiative is addressing systemic inequalities in the U.S. and globally through our focus on four key areas—educational equity, public safety and policing, workforce development, and community health and well-being. Explore our project library.