Turning around our nation’s low-performing schools became a national priority—and central focus of education policy at all levels—in 2001 with No Child Left Behind. Then Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants redoubled the nation’s emphasis on school turnaround, giving states more resources to advance improvement efforts within federal ...
Some research has questioned whether taking STEM AP courses makes any difference when it comes to pursuing STEM majors in college and STEM occupations. New research led by AIR Senior Vice President and Institute Fellow George Bohrnstedt strongly contradicts those prior findings. In this Q&A, Bohrnstedt explains the findings and ...
For decades, charter schools and district-run schools have been placed on opposing sides by advocates and policymakers. With support from the state and other partners, the Lawrence Public School District (LPS) state receiver brought these two seemingly opposing ideas together as a turnaround strategy for the district’s lowest performing schools. ...
This Field Guide should be used by schools and districts to assist them in developing well-articulated and widely shared plans for creating middle schools where all students succeed.
With careers for millennials stalling on the launch pad, does the push for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) really make sense? In this blog post, AIR Institute Fellow Mark Schneider explains that new data suggest that the nation may not need more bachelor’s graduates in the most popular science ...
This study linked school-reported transcript data to student item responses on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to examine the relationships between high school coursework and end-of-high school mathematics achievement. The findings showed that high-level coursework in mathematics and science were significantly related to mathematics achievement even ...
Susan Therriault is an education researcher whose work straddles equity, K-12 school improvement, and policy. In this Q&A, she describes her career and her work with the COVID-19 Equity in Education project.
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.
By examining how comprehensive school reformers complete their life course, this paper highlights the importance of studying sustainability as well as the importance of being clear about what is being sustained.
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.