Iris Daruwala is a senior researcher at AIR, where she works with foundations and federal, state, and local agencies on research and evaluation projects. Her work is primarily focused on understanding how educational interventions and reforms can reduce inequities among marginalized student groups and support whole child well-being. As an ...
Although teachers understand the critical importance of social-emotional learning for their students’ overall development, few educator evaluation systems explicitly address that type of learning. This brief identifies the instructional practices that promote student social-emotional learning, which in turn are critical for student academic learning; and showcases how three popular teacher ...
For years, education leaders have sought to pinpoint how teachers become effective in order to better leverage teachers’ impact on student learning and improve student outcomes. This report describes the characteristics of teacher leaders, the roles teacher leaders take in improving teacher practice, and the supports and barriers to teacher ...
The Wisconsin Reading Excellence and Demonstration of Success (READS) initiative was launched by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in 1999–2000 in an effort to positively affect student reading achievement and reduce the number of referrals to special education in READS-funded schools through the implementation of comprehensive reading programs. This ...
When teachers learn, students learn. For decades, AIR has conducted studies of teacher professional learning and helped practitioners use evidence to develop, implement, test, and scale professional learning programs.
Effective school leaders may be the linchpin of a successful school system. Research has identified school leadership quality as second only to teacher quality in its influence on student achievement.
The goal of UTeach at the University of Texas at Austin is to increase the numbers of highly qualified STEM teachers in high-needs schools by expanding preparation pathways, and to broaden participation of underrepresented students in high-needs schools through evidence-based professional development and ongoing support of in-service teachers. AIR is ...
Educator performance evaluation systems are a potential tool for improving student achievement by increasing the effectiveness of the educator workforce. This report is based on a study on the implementation of teacher and principal performance measures highlighted by recent research, as well as the impact of providing feedback based on ...
The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Learning Point Associates were selected by four of the highest rated Investing in Innovation (i3) federal grant applicants to evaluate the efficacy of their programs in improving student achievement and increasing teacher effectiveness.
Dena D. Slanda is a senior TA consultant in the Education and Instruction division at AIR. Dr. Slanda provides technical assistance and professional development to states and school districts with an emphasis on improving results for students with high-intensity needs. She does this by strengthening educator and administrator professional learning ...