Researchers at the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, operated by AIR, worked with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) to review college and career readiness indicators in the state. The goals of this effort were to support ADE in several areas, including developing and refining college and career readiness indicators, improving and using data systems and data visualization techniques, gaining a better understanding of the progress of their students as they prepare for college and careers, and identifying where unequal postsecondary education and employment opportunities exist for students.

AIR conducted an evaluation of the Say Yes to Education Syracuse City School District Program, a citywide collaborative intervention aimed at improving educational outcomes and educational attainment for all Syracuse students. The goals of the evaluation were to examine broad K-12 student outcomes in the context of the Say Yes program and to address the multiple barriers to college access in urban populations characterized by socioeconomic disadvantage.

AIR’s Southeast Comprehensive Center supported state education agencies in strengthening their plans for implementing college- and career-ready standards and assessments. These supports addressed the lack of capacity for implementation and improvement of effective statewide assessment and accountability systems.

AIR conducted data collection and analysis for U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of all high schools in the country. The goal was to create a ranking system to identify the top-performing high schools that were exceeding the odds based on the students they serve. Rankings were based on state proficiency standards and the degree to which schools were preparing students for college-level work.

Researchers at the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, operated by AIR, in collaboration with the New Mexico Public Education Department, conducted a study to examine outcomes for several cohorts of students in New Mexico required to meet increased math and science course requirements and to take a new graduation exam. The aims of the study were to examine student outcomes among four years of cohorts before and after the changes in high school graduation requirements were implemented.