More than 40 percent of the 1.8 million adults served by the national adult education program are English language learners (ELLs). Often, these learners begin with English as a second language classes and then transition to adult basic or adult secondary programming to further their academic skills. In 2008–2011, AIR ...
With the COVID-19 crisis affecting the economy and employment, reducing barriers to work has become increasingly important, and changes to occupational licensing could pave the way for getting people back to work. In this video, AIR's Christina Curnow discusses what AIR has learned about occupational licensing through research and a ...
If educators and policymakers are to make good on the national commitment to graduate more students from high school prepared to face postsecondary challenges, schools must continue to improve career technical education (CTE), ensuring that students have access to high-quality pathways to success. This brief provides an overview of the ...
In this commentary, AIR expert Amy West discusses the need for education and job skills training for displaced Syrian youth, a need that will require the help and cooperation of education ministries, donors, government officials, and others from multiple countries.
Traditionally, the bachelor's degree has been seen as the doorway to the middle class for most Americans, but is this still the case? In an economic environment increasingly defined by new technologies and global market places--does it make sense to spend four years in college getting a liberal arts degree? ...
First responder fields serve a crucial role in the safety and well-being of communities around the country, but first responders don't always reflect the populations they serve. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Chief Evaluation Office initiated an exploratory study to identify promising practices that first responder agencies and organizations can ...
The Integrated Skills Training Programme for Disadvantaged Adolescents and Youth in Lebanon (TVET) aims to provide vocational and competence-based training to both Lebanese and refugee youth, increase their access to employment and income generating activities, and enhance their personal and life skills. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) contracted AIR ...
Research indicates that students who take developmental (remedial) courses in college often struggle to persist in and complete credit-bearing coursework. These findings have spurred a range of reforms, such as corequisites, which provide developmental education support within the same semester as a credit-bearing course. This presentation describes the early findings ...
As higher education policymakers and advocates consider new federal measures of student persistence and completion, how do these measures “stack up” when data from actual institutions—particularly those that serve “post-traditional” students—are used to calculate them? This technical report uses data from 11 institutions to demonstrate the importance of including all ...
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.