Having a more effective teacher or principal can substantially improve students’ academic outcomes. This brief examines the effects of using research-based performance measures to evaluate educators and provide them with feedback, and of offering them bonuses based on their performance ratings.
Too many new principals say they are underprepared for critical leadership tasks which—combined with high job demands, poor support, and increased accountability—raises principal stress to a boiling point. In this blog post, Matthew Clifford describes 18 “high leverage” state-level policies that hold promise for increasing innovation and improving principal preparation. ...
What students are expected to learn in some states can vary greatly with what students are expected to learn in other states. This AIR study uses international benchmarking as a common metric to examine the variance in state performance standards, exposing a large gap in expectations between the states with ...
Decades of research show that whole child approaches to learning, which emphasize a positive school climate; an integrated approach to social, emotional, and academic learning; and wraparound services are essential to students' academic and life success and can reduce the negative effects of poverty on achievement. Speakers at this briefing ...
A qualitative study of nonrespondent addresses to the 2019 administration of the National Household Education Survey was conducted to better understand the drivers of nonresponse to mail-based household surveys in general—and to the NHES in particular—and to provide actionable information on how to combat this growing problem. ...
AIR stands with those seeking justice, equality, and healing. Read a message sent to staff on June 1 from David Myers, AIR President and CEO, and Karen Francis, Director of Diversity and Inclusion.
While the DC Free Summer Meals program offers no-cost food to students throughout the city, families have often had difficulty finding the locations where meals are available. As a part of AIR’s Socially Responsible Analytics Initiative, we partnered with the District of Columbia Public Schools to build a website that ...
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.
Refugee resettlement can be a challenging process for people traumatized by decades of war and socioeconomic instability. With the HEAR project, AIR and its partners will use innovative qualitative research and capacity-building approaches to facilitate collaboration among multisector organizations toward advancing health equity for Afghan refugees. ...
Learn about the American Institutes for Research and how we apply our mission to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world.