Standards and Assessments

Graphic: AIR Social Studies Standards Ecosystem

AIR recognizes the vital role of high-quality standards in developing assessment, evaluation, and accountability systems. A standards-based education system ensures all students are prepared for college, careers, and military service. High-quality standards and assessments are the foundation of a strong education system and inform cohesive policy decisions that support equitable teaching and learning outcomes for all students.

We work with states and districts to apply evidence-based strategies to design and develop policies and practices to create education systems centered on high-quality standards for all students. Our experts use evidence-informed technical assistance practices to support states, districts, and schools. Our researchers use rigorous methods to study the impact of standards-based education systems.

AIR’s Standards and Assessments ecosystem provides a cohesive and comprehensive structure to guide the development of standards-based systems.

Learn more about the Standards and Assessments ecosystem
 

Contact

Bobbi Newman

Principal Researcher
Related Topics
Education

Our Work

25 SEPT 2024 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Financial Literacy Skills for the 21st Century: Results from PISA 2022

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Please join AIR, the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for a webinar to discuss the latest Financial Literacy results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international assessment of 15-year-olds. Register now


AIR’s approach to Standards and Assessments provides a cohesive and comprehensive structure to guide the development of standards-based systems. Each aspect of the approach supports federal, state, and district use of standards and assessments to create and implement coherent policies and practices centered on a standards-based education system.

Using evidence-informed technical assistance practices, we work in partnership with federal, state, and local clients to support their efforts in improving learning outcomes for students across all grade and content areas. We tailor our approach to respond to federal, state, district, and local needs and remain attentive to both policy and political contexts. AIR’s experts also provide technical and analytical support for U.S. participation in international assessments such as TIMSS, PISA, and PIRLS. Our research and evaluation teams study critical questions needed to better understand how to create standards-based education systems.

 

Learn more about how we contribute our expertise to standards and assessments across education subjects:

 

girl putting money in piggy bank

Financial Literacy

elementary kids doing a science experiment

Science

social studies teacher with globe and young students

Social Studies


Stay up to date by connecting with us and signing up for periodic updates from AIR's standards and assessments team.

 

Key Projects and Resources

Our Standards & Assessments Ecosystem page provides more details on AIR’s approach to this work and additional projects.

AIR’s Standards and Assessments work helps our clients to create rigorous cohesive, and comprehensive standards-aligned systems. Our work is typically focused on one or more of the following core functions, all of which are embedded in research and evidence, and each connected by well-aligned policies and practices:

Planning and facilitating

Developing standards

Supporting standards implementation

  • Facilitating the development of resources that support implementation
  • Supporting the identification of high-quality instructional materials that support implementation
  • Developing tools for teachers to better access and use assessment results

Analyzing curricula and assessment

Conducting alignment studies

Building states’ and districts’ capacity to support standards-aligned teaching and learning

Related Work
RISE webinar logo

RISE Webinar Series

25 Sep 2024
The Research on International Studies in Education (RISE) Webinar Series, organized by AIR, showcases research using data from international studies and promotes sharing and discussion about how data-based evidence can be used for improving educational outcomes.
Social studies teacher with a globe and young students

Standards and Assessments in Social Studies

22 Aug 2024
Since 2012, AIR has intentionally grown a strong portfolio of social studies education projects. AIR has supported more than 12 states, various U.S. territories, and 4 national organizations in the planning, revision, and implementation of social studies standards.
girl putting money in piggybank

Standards and Assessments in Financial Literacy

08 Aug 2024
AIR works with clients on a wide range of financial literacy education issues, including the creation or revision of high-quality standards, analysis of curriculum, and evaluation of the connections to post-secondary readiness and financial literacy. Our experts in financial literacy assessment track how students are doing across the nation and ...
Elementary kids doing a science experiment

Standards and Assessments in Science

10 Jul 2024
While over 90% of U.S. states and territories currently use the NRC-aligned or NGSS science standards, many reports highlight the need for implementation tools, resources, and cohesive state and local policies to support equitable science teaching and learning outcomes for all students. AIR’s team consists of content and practitioner experts ...
Social studies classroom showing a globe and colored pencils

The State of K-12 Social Studies Education

01 Apr 2024
In this report, we communicate the state of K-12 social studies education by examining the following topics: trends in the development and content of state social studies standards; the landscape of curriculum materials and state and district efforts in evaluating these materials; and gaps in the field for further investigation. ...

The Search for High-Quality Instructional Materials in Social Studies

20 Dec 2023
Students who receive high-quality social studies instruction are likely to develop skills that will help them make civic contributions in the future. Recognizing these needs in the field, AIR partnered with EdReports to develop evidence guides that educational professionals across the nation can use to identify high-quality instructional materials for ...
Teacher in high school classroom

Pressing Needs in Research on K–12 Civic Learning: A Call to the Field

13 Sep 2023
In recent decades, most school systems have not prioritized civic learning in policy and practice. In this brief, we discuss the need for action in two inter-related areas to help address the current state of democracy through the promotion of K–12 civic learning: measurement and causal research.
Middle school students studying geography

Reflections on the Landscape of Social Studies Standards

22 Jun 2023
For the past decade, AIR has partnered with more than a dozen SEAs to support the review, revision, and implementation of their social studies standards. In every collaboration, there are numerous opportunities and challenges specific to the needs and concerns of each state. As a whole, these experiences provide us ...
Teacher and two young students working with two globes

Five Key Elements for Developing State Social Studies Standards

12 Jun 2023
In this Q&A, AIR’s Beth Ratway, principal technical assistance consultant, and Stefanie Wager, senior technical assistance consultant, discuss why standards matter, how to manage the process of developing—and implementing—social studies standards, and five key elements for success.
Graduating class

Maryland College and Career Readiness Empirical Study

Ensuring that secondary students are adequately prepared for college and career pathways after high school remains a critical priority for schools, education systems, and policymakers. In response to policy mandates for more explicit College and Career Readiness (CCR) requirements in K–12 academic standards, states have responded with varied approaches to ...