In this Q&A, Josh Polanin, principal researcher and project director for AIR’s What Works Clearinghouse, discusses his experience in quantitative methodology, particularly systematic review and meta-analysis, which allows him to design and lead studies across the field of education research.
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.
AIR’s state and local evaluation projects marshal a broad range of expertise and resources to support state education agencies and district offices as they decide whether to retain, revise, or end a policy or program. The projects address challenges in district and school reform, educator quality, special education, school financing, ...
Supporting the mission to provide targeted support for English Learmers, the Midwest Comprehensive Center worked with the Minnesota Department of Education on a cultural competency project. The project had two primary goals: 1) Conduct a listening tour of agency staff to inform recommendations on developing cultural competency within MDE so ...
In this commentary, Pooja Reddy Nakamura, an AIR senior researcher explores the question of when to introduce English to children in multilingual contexts. Rather than introducing it at the first opportunity, she suggests grouping classes by local language achievement skill—not just age—and introducing written English only after the local language ...
Meeting the needs of English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities (SWDs) is a critical yet challenging responsibility for all schools. This brief highlights four key strategies that emerged from the exploration of practices and systems in place in Massachusetts turnaround schools that successfully provide appropriate interventions to all of ...
The vital role that community members serve in a successful research-to-practice continuum echoed throughout our Pathways to Peace public symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. The themes we heard are critical, particularly as we consider how the AIR Equity Initiative can deepen and grow our efforts to engage in community conversations and ...
Drawing on interviews with district leaders as well as focus groups with coaches, specialists and principals, this brief describes the Fresno-Long Beach Learning Partnership’s work in two of the four areas that the districts selected as key leverage points for district action: mathematics and English learner instruction. ...
The initiatives to enhance adult learning program accountability and assessment systems of the following states are described in this paper: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon, Texas, Washington, West Virginia.
The 2012 Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration program was designed to strengthen existing youth mentoring programs across the United States. In this Q&A, Manolya Tanyu describes the effectiveness of the programmatic enhancements—and the challenges of implementing them across a wide array of youth mentoring organizations. ...