Public schools in Cleveland can reduce violence, promote the mental health of students and improve conditions for learning and teaching by implementing reforms contained in a report by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), which follows a six-month audit of conditions in the city's schools.
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.
How can state education agencies identify and apply effective practices to achieve their goals? Education research can point to beneficial practices, but finding relevant research can be a difficult and time-consuming process. The Midwest Comprehensive Center partnered with the Minnesota Department of Education leadership to help state education staff understand ...
State implementation of new standards (revising, adapting, and adopting new standards) is a significant undertaking. Many states are just beginning to consider whether to modify existing science standards, adapt standards being used in other states, or develop new ones. This document is intended to guide state boards of education through ...
A strategy to “cluster” Teach for America corps members in some of Miami’s highest-need schools contributed to large gains in student math achievement, but had little impact on reading skills, a new study by AIR finds. Researchers also looked at the influence—or spillover effect—of TFA’s instructors on fellow teachers and ...
Recent media attention has raised significant concerns about our public school system’s capability to staff all classrooms; yet remarkably little research details the nature of teacher shortages. This brief provides a roadmap for policy leaders to hold better informed dialogues on the nature of teacher shortages, and target interventions to ...
More than 20 policy experts from AIR will present at the 39th annual fall conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) taking place November 2-4 in Chicago, IL. This year’s theme, “Measurement Matters: Better Data for Better Decisions,” will focus on the importance of data and ...
The U.S. Department of Education has renewed its focus on ensuring that all students—especially those in under-resourced communities—have access to excellent educators. By June of 2015, all states must engage education stakeholders on locally-developed solutions to ensure every student has effective educators. This discussion guide is designed to help educators, ...
As the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged teachers to shift instruction to distance learning platforms, it also has exposed the need for professional learning opportunities to help teachers adapt to this “new normal.” Lynn Holdheide answered a few questions about how districts and schools can turn this crisis into an opportunity ...
Many district and school leaders find it challenging to chart a course to meet continuous improvement goals. AIR’s IL-EMPOWER Launch Package was developed to help Illinois district and school leaders assess their continuous improvement needs and put plans into action to improve educator effectiveness and outcomes for students. ...