AIR is conducting an evaluation of the implementation of the Perkins V legislation, which defines and supports career and technical education (CTE). The evaluation includes a survey of state CTE directors, a nationally representative survey of local education agencies, an evidence review of career development and counseling, analysis of extant data, a content analysis of the states’ Perkins plans, and possibly a survey of community colleges. This research will explore the implementation of the Perkins V legislation and how implementation is changing as a result of new mandates and allowable activities.

AIR, in collaboration with IMPAQ, is designing and building a borrower-based dynamic microsimulation model of the repayment of federal student loans for the Cost Estimation and Analysis Division of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Budget Services. This work will help the Department better estimate the costs and consequences of student loan debt for a wide array of student populations, as well as understand the impact of potential policy changes on loan program costs and student outcomes.

AIR, in collaboration with Development Services Group, Inc., sought to identify the effects of financial grant aid on students' postsecondary success by conducting a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of 87 studies and over 700 effect sizes. The results indicated that aid has the largest impact on college enrollment, resulting in a 2 percent increase in initial enrollment. Further, results of 40 studies showed that aid results in a 0.5 percent increase in college completion, which when translated to the US population of college-going students, would have resulted in 30,000 more students graduating in 2019.