This journal article uses longitudinal data from Washington state to investigate the relationships among career and technical education (CTE) enrollment, inclusion in general education, and high school and postsecondary outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Researchers replicated earlier findings that students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in a "concentration" of CTE courses had higher rates of employment after graduation than observably similar students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in fewer CTE courses.

This journal article presents findings from a study of whether disability status and course delivery format affect course completion at a Historically Black College. The results show that students with disabilities are just as likely as peers without disabilities to complete courses, but students with disabilities were less likely to complete online versus traditionally delivered courses.

American Institutes for Research, in collaboration with the University of Washington, is working on a research project designed to provide a first look at career and technical education (CTE) teacher effectiveness for students with disabilities (SWD). The project aims to measure teacher effectiveness based on estimates of teacher effects on various non-test and long-run student outcomes (e.g., postsecondary enrollment; employment) and to assess whether teacher effectiveness varies according to teachers’ licensure, pathway into teaching (e.g. traditional vs. alternative), and prior work experiences.

Researchers at the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, operated by AIR, conducted a study examining the impact of providing parents with an informational brochure about the role of Algebra II in college access on students’ grade 11 Algebra II completion rates in Texas. One hundred nine schools, covering all 20 Educational Service Center regions in Texas, participated in the study.

Researchers at the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, operated by AIR, conducted a study to examine Algebra II completion and failure rates in Texas for high school students. This period spans (a) the point at which Texas began implementing the 4x4 curriculum that required four courses each in English, math (including Algebra II), science, and social studies, and (b) when the state moved to the new Foundation High School Program—which eliminates Algebra II as a math requirement—with the 2014/15 cohort.

Researchers at the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, operated by AIR, conducted a study to investigate (a) the percentage of Round Rock Independent School District (ISD) graduates from 2012/13 through 2017/18 who completed one or more career and technical education (CTE) programs of study; (b) the percentage of Round Rock ISD CTE programs of study aligned with high-wage, in-demand career pathways in Central Texas; (c) the percentage of Round Rock ISD graduates completing programs of study aligned to those high-wage, in-demand career pathways; and (d) postsecondary outcomes of Round Rock ISD graduates who completed a program of study.

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.