AIR experts to present at the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness 2026 annual conference. Sep 18, 2026, 11:27 ET ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Experts from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) will present at several sessions during the 2026 Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) conference. The conference will be held September 23-26, 2026, at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore, MD. AIR experts will share their work across a variety of topics, including work-based learning, high-quality instructional materials; individualized math instruction; digital learning programs; and more. Built around the theme, "Education and Public Trust: Evidence and Accountability in a Changing Landscape," the conference will bring together education researchers, policy leaders, and professionals from around the country. AIR is a Silver Conference Sponsor and will have a booth available in the Exhibitor Hall. Sessions featuring AIR experts and their work are listed below (all times are in Eastern Daylight Time). Learn more about all conference presentations and activities on the conference website. Wednesday, September 23 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Workshop: Matching Methods for Multilevel Data in Education Research: A Practical Guide and Illustration of Approaches in R Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel AB 2:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Paper Presentation: Impacts of Work-Based Learning Programs on Student Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel CD Paper Presentation: From Foundational Skills to Community College: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Illinois Bridge Programs for Adult Learners Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel CD AIR Presenters/Authors: Neha Nanda, Amani Talwar, Roman Ruiz, Jessica Stockham, and Oshin Khachikian 4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Harborside Foyer Poster Session: Motivation and Engagement Profiles in Middle School Social Studies and Their Instructional Implications AIR Presenters/Authors: Alida Hudson, Lauren Artzi, Patrick Steele, Hannah Keepers, and Isabelle D'Souza Poster Session: Ready Set Succeed: Examining the Impacts and Costs of a Kindergarten Transition Program AIR Presenters/Authors: Leanne Elliott, Rachel Feldman, Danielle Riser, Lara Iqbal, Eboni Howard, and Hans Bos Poster Session: Teaching Tomorrow's Skills Today: Insights from the Teach Tech Kentucky Project AIR Presenters/Authors: Laura Buckley, Rachel Garrett, and Eben Witherspoon Poster Session: Building Trust in Educational Evidence: A Study of Reporting Bias in Impact Evaluations Thursday, September 24 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Paper Presentation: The Impact of Teacher Professional Learning Designed to Support Effective Use of High-Quality Instructional Materials Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Harbor D Paper Presentation: From Interviews to Evidence: Using Large Language Models Responsibly in Program Evaluation Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel AB AIR Presenters/Authors: Ruhan Circi, Burhan Ogut, Tabitha Tezil, Eben Witherspoon, and Amelia Vasquez 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Harborside Foyer Poster Session: Building Validity for AI-Supported Formative Assessment: Evidence From Phase 1 of the ADAPT-AI Project Poster Session: The Associations Between Preparation and Pathways and the Composition, Distribution, and Stability of Special Educators AIR Presenter/Author: Allison Gilmour and Roddy Theobald Poster Session: Research on Using Simulation to Practice Evidence-Based Math Instruction Poster Session: Of 'Dear Colleague' Letters and Federal Injunctions: How Federal DEI Actions Influence Teachers' Use of Culturally Responsive Practices Poster Session: Teaching with AI: Building Evidence for Professional Learning That Supports Responsible Classroom Integration Poster Session: Synthesizing Evidence on Standalone Digital Learning Programs in Math and Science to Inform K-12 Instructional Strategies 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Panel: URE Moderated Discussion - Trusted by Whom? Rethinking Public Trust in Education Research Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Harbor E AIR Organizer & Panel Chair: Rachel Garrett AIR Presenters/Authors: Joseph Taylor and Rachel Garrett Friday, September 25 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Panel: RM Moderated Discussion - Supporting Early-Career Education Researchers Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Harbor B Paper Presentation: Propensity Score Matching in Multilevel Educational Settings: A Review and Guide for Applied Researchers Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel AB AIR Presenters/Authors: Jordan Rickles, Alberto Guzman-Alvarez and Qi Zhang Paper Presentation: The Benefits and Costs of Educational Inclusion: Evidence from an Evaluation of the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools Program Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Galena AIR Presenters/Authors: Jesse Levin, Rachel Feldman, Katie Laird, and Brad Salvato 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Keynote Panel: The Education Research Ecosystem: What Would it Take for Evidence to Matter More? Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Harborside C Ballroom 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Harborside Foyer Poster Session: In-the-Pipeline: Individualized Math Instruction with The Modern Classrooms Project - Preliminary Analyses Poster Session: Using Retrospective Pretest Items in Educational Program AIR Presenters/Authors: Diana Oh and Margarita Olivera-Aguilar Poster Session: Designing and Evaluating AI-Assisted Qualitative Analysis Workflows for Education Impact Studies Panel: OSS Invited Moderated Discussion - School Accountability and Turnaround in a Time of Federal Limbo Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Galena Paper Presentation: Nudged, But at What Cost? Assessing the State of Economic Evaluation in a Systematic Review of Postsecondary Nudge Interventions Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel CD AIR Presenters/Authors: Chris Brooks, Melissa Rodgers, Charleen Gust, Amanda Danks, and Megan Austin Paper Presentation: Scaling Effective Educational Interventions Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Kent AB AIR Presenters/Authors: Yinmei Wan Saturday, September 26 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Paper Presentation: Student Engagement as a Pathway Linking Teacher Support to Mathematics Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling Review Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel CD AIR Presenters/Authors: Qi Zhang and Yibing Li Paper Presentation: Student Perceptions of and Performance in Math: Effects of Middle School Access to Real-World Math Lessons Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel CD AIR Presenters/Authors: Jordan Rickles, Fei Tan, Santiago Nicotera, and Amelia Auchstetter 10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Paper Presentation: Evaluation Findings of the Equity Leader Accelerator Program Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Laurel AB AIR Presenters/Authors: Martyna Citkowicz, Sarah Mae Olivar, Sarah Peko-Spicer, Jasmine James, Sonica Dhillon, and Jill Bowdon Paper Presentation: Impacts of a Rural, Community-Based Summer Literacy Program on Early Elementary Struggling Readers' Outcomes: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Study Location: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront - Kent AB AIR Presenters/Authors: Patrick Rich, Karen Manship, Aleksandra Holod, and Alberto Guzman-Alvarez About AIR Established in 1946, 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 education, health, and the workforce. With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR has offices across the U.S. and abroad. For more information, visit www.air.org. SOURCE American Institutes for Research

The power of peer collaboration. Teachers know that students learn best when they are actively engaged in their own learning. The same applies to teacher professional development. TxCEE's Collaborative Language Acquisition Strategies for Success (CLASS) project is built on exactly this premise. Rather than positioning teachers as passive recipients of training, CLASS treats teachers as active contributors to one another's growth, thus leveraging collective expertise through structured collaboration to drive meaningful instructional improvement. How peer collaboration is embedded in CLASS. The CLASS model is intentionally designed around Collaborative Learning Communities (CLCs), the central mechanism through which peer collaboration occurs. In these communities, teachers meet regularly to focus on instruction, student learning, and continuous improvement. In these collaborative spaces, teachers work together to analyze student needs and progress, apply and test evidence-based instructional strategies, reflect on what works in real classroom settings, and refine their approaches over time. This structure ensures that collaboration is not just frequent, but purposeful and directly tied to classroom practice. But does this collaborative approach really work? What the evidence shows. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has partnered with TxCEE to independently evaluate the CLASS program. Based on surveys, interviews, and focus groups with participating teachers, findings suggest that this collaborative approach is already yielding important benefits. As shown in the infographic below, most teachers perceived CLCs as moderately or extremely effective for: * Reviewing student data * Reflecting on instructional strategies * Learning new instructional strategies * Collaborating with colleagues on problems of practice * Engaging in authentic discussions with colleagues In interviews, teachers and school leaders described CLCs as energizing spaces for shared learning and reflection. As a participating 4th grade teacher noted, "I think the CLC meetings are really, really enriching. I enjoy going in there and sharing what we know and also bouncing off each other's strategies." A school principal echoed this enthusiasm, explaining that what stands out most is seeing teachers light up as they engage with one another's ideas and become open to trying new approaches in their classrooms. Beyond training: A shift in professional learning. Ultimately, the success of peer collaboration in CLASS reflects a broader shift in how professional learning is conceptualized. Rather than relying on external expertise alone, the project recognizes that teachers themselves are powerful learning resources. By centering collaboration, CLASS transforms professional development into an ongoing, interactive process where teachers learn from each other's experiences and continuously improve through shared reflection. This approach not only strengthens instruction in the short term but also builds lasting capacity within schools. As the CLASS project continues, it offers a compelling example of the power of collaboration to foster professional growth and strengthen instructional practice.