CALDER Relocates to American Institutes for Research

National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research Joins National Leader in Education Research and Evaluation

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Demonstrating its ongoing commitment to education research and evaluation, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) announced that the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) has relocated to AIR, effective July 18, 2011.

CALDER will operate as a joint project of AIR and scholars at Duke University, Northwestern University, Stanford University, the University of Missouri, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Washington.  It will continue to be led by Jane Hannaway, who will report to AIR President & CEO David Myers.

The Center, previously part of the Urban Institute, emphasizes how rigorous research can support better educational policies. The Center's researchers use longitudinal data and econometric techniques to examine such things as on how teacher policies, governance policies, and social and economic community conditions affect outcomes for teachers and their students.

"CALDER has long stood as the gold standard for the integration of education research and economic analysis, providing an unmatched understanding of the data to aid policymakers, practitioners, and the public to improve education outcomes," Myers said.  "As a part of AIR, CALDER and its partners will play an important role in improving education policy, our schools, and student learning overall."

"We are also fortunate to have a recognized expert like Jane Hannaway join AIR as she continues to lead CALDER.  Dr. Hannaway's work, particularly in the areas of educator effectiveness, accountability, and federal and state reforms, further strengthens AIR's ongoing leadership in educational research and evaluation," Myers added.

"Since its founding, CALDER has been focused on student outcomes, utilizing longitudinal databases and other data sources to provide research-based answers to some of the most challenging questions facing the education field today," Hannaway said.  "AIR is an excellent home for this important work, helping deliver those answers to stakeholders at the federal, state, and district who most benefit from good data."

CALDER currently works with data from Florida, Indiana, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Washington, D.C.  Through a national network of university-based senior researchers, CALDER studies a wide range of education policy research topics, including: state and local education finance, school accountability, standards and assessment, teacher recruitment and retention, teacher quality, school administration, child development, early childhood education, special education, childhood poverty, higher education, segregation, school choice, and school incentives.

Founded in 1946, AIR is one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world.  The not-for-profit is committed to empowering communities and institutions with innovative solutions to the most critical education, health, workforce, and international development challenges.  With more than 1,600 global employees, AIR's foundation is in education research.  The organization currently stands as a national leader in teaching and learning improvement, providing the research, assessment, evaluation, and technical assistance to ensure all students – particularly those that face historical disadvantages – have access to a high-quality, effective education.   

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AIR has domestic offices in Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Chapel Hill, NC; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH; Frederick, MD; Honolulu, HI; Naperville, IL; New York, NY; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; San Mateo, CA; Silver Spring, MD; and Waltham, MA.  It also currently works in nearly 30 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South America, and operates project offices in Ethiopia, Georgia, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nicaragua, Pakistan, South Africa, and Zambia.

About CALDER
The National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) informs education policy development through analyses of data on individual students and teachers over time.  The Center's research focuses most centrally on how teacher policies, governance policies, and social and economic community conditions affect outcomes for teachers and their students.  By capitalizing on rich longitudinal data, the Center can explore a breadth of critical education issues and present research advancements of the highest quality to policymakers.  Through the course of this work, CALDER makes significant technical and analytic contributions to the field as it mines growing sources of state and administrative longitudinal data with state-of-the-art econometric techniques.

About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.

Contact: Larry McQuillan
(202) 403-5119

SOURCE American Institutes for Research