States have prioritized documenting and improving the quality of early childhood education programs by developing quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs). This report describes the quality improvement efforts of early childhood education programs participating in Iowa’s voluntary quality rating and improvement system, the Iowa Quality Rating System (QRS). The findings ...
According to an AIR analysis of data from U.S. Department of Education’s early childhood longitudinal studies, America’s public school kindergarten has become dramatically more academic. In this blog post, Jill Walston and Kristin Flanagan describe the data and ask how this affects children who don't have the opportunity to attend ...
The foster care system was already overburdened before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, it faces even more challenges. AIR early childhood expert and licensed foster mom Ann-Marie Faria discusses these challenges and potential ways to address them in the latest podcast episode.
Knowing that the current context is dramatically different than previous school years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that students’ access to learning from home varies, how should schools grade student performance? This brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform explores some of the policy options California districts and ...
Nature-based youth programming combines the benefits of being outside and active with opportunities for deeper learning through authentic, hands-on, real-world projects. This interactive brief features three nature-based youth programs and highlights examples of how these programs are bringing the project-based approach to life. ...
May 17 marks the 66th anniversary of the historic 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education. The court’s unanimous ruling outlawed racial segregation in public schools, citing a violation of the equal protection clause under the Fourteenth Amendment.
For more than 15 years, AIR has led the National Reporting System for Adult Education for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE). AIR developed the adult education accountability system—the NRS—and from its inception developed a parallel line of technical assistance activities to ensure its effective implementation and use. ...
School Improvement Grants are provided by the Department of Education in an attempt to raise the achievement of students in the state’s lowest-performing schools. The purpose of this report is to describe several state-developed alternative intervention models approved by the Department of Education. ...
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.
Contributing and working alongside Native Nations, AIR has a deep commitment to engaging communities, fostering shared vision and values, building capacity, and developing strategic alliances to achieve sustainable systems change in Indian Country.