Special Issue of Educational Researcher Examines LGBTQ Issues in Education AERA published a special edition of its peer-reviewed journal Educational Researcher devoted to examining pressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning issues in education. Read more
Comprehensive Research Review Finds Lasting Effects of Quality Early Childhood Education through High School Children who participate in high-quality early childhood education programs before entering kindergarten later experience fewer special education placements, decreased grade retention, and improved high school graduation rates compared with peers who do not participate, according to new research published in Educational Researcher, a peer-reviewed journal of AERA. Read more Statement from AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine on the Final Report of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking AERA praises the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking and its final report, The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking, detailing legislative priorities and regulatory recommendations for evidence building and data management in the federal government. Read more Media Advisory: Capitol Hill Event to Commemorate 150th Anniversary of the National Center for Education Statistics Join policy and research experts for a discussion on the pioneering work of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the second oldest federal statistical agency. Looking back—and ahead—speakers will explore NCES’s most important successes, opportunities, and challenges. Read more
AERA Accepting Nominations for Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award AERA is now accepting nominations for excellence in news reporting on education research. The AERA Award for Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research is presented to an individual in the media who has demonstrated excellence in raising awareness, knowledge, and understanding of education research. Read more
Taking Career and Technical Education Courses Later in High School Reduces Chances of Dropping Out and Improves On-Time Graduation High school students who complete career and technical education (CTE) courses during their junior and senior years are, on average, more likely to graduate on time and less likely to drop out than students who do not take CTE courses, according to new research published in the American Educational Research Journal, a peer-reviewed journal of the AERA. Read more
Statement by AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine on the New Expansion of IPEDS and the Need for Lifting Restrictions on Federal Data Collection AERA praises the National Center for Education Statistics for providing important new college completion data through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and calls on Congress to lift restrictions preventing necessary additional data collection and research. Read more
Media Advisory: Alfredo J. Artiles, Distinguished Scholar on Disabilities, Equity, and Education, to Deliver 14th Annual Brown Lecture Alfredo J. Artiles, a professor of special education and dean of graduate education at Arizona State University, will give the 14th Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research, held by the American Educational Research Association. The title of this year’s lecture is “Re-envisioning Equity Research: Disability Identification Disparities as a Case in Point.” Read more
AERA Statement and Resources on National Bullying Prevention Month Every student deserves to feel safe and secure in the classroom. That is why the AERA is joining schools and other organizations across the country to highlight National Bullying Prevention Month during October and help educate the public on bullying prevention efforts and encourage individuals to get involved. Read more AERA Statement on Mass Shooting in Las Vegas In this period of human devastation and public pain, it is incumbent upon us to confront our collective responsibilities as researchers, educators, and policy makers to engage in a dialogue about the pervasive and lethal effects of guns in the hands of those seeking to render violence. Read more
AERA Statement on Providing Our Support for the Victims of Hurricane Maria A second wave of destruction has brought devastation to our colleagues, students, and the entire population of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria, along with Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey, is causing immense pain for those impacted. AERA continues to be committed to supporting individuals affected by these terrible events. Read more
AERA Statement on Providing Our Support for the Victims of Hurricane Irma The destruction caused by Hurricane Irma has created immense pain and hardship. Just as we supported those affected by Hurricane Harvey, AERA expresses concern to our colleagues, students, and all people throughout Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the entire Caribbean who are experiencing significant harm and loss. Read more
Statement by AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine on Proposed Amendment Slashing Federal Education Research Funding AERA strongly opposes the Rooney Amendment to the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018 (H. R. 3354), currently under consideration in the House of Representatives. Read more
AERA Grants Program Receives Major NSF Award The American Educational Research Association has received a five-year $4.3 million award from the National Science Foundation to support the work of the AERA Grants Program to advance knowledge and capacity building related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics using large-scale national and international data resources. Read more
AERA Statement on the Hateful Acts in Charlottesville The American Educational Research Association condemns racism in all its forms and joins others throughout our nation in the fight to eradicate hate, injustice, and racial violence. The recent events in Charlottesville not only make visible how White supremacy, racism, antisemitism, religious persecution, homophobia, and xenophobia continue to permeate our society, but also remind us of the critical importance of studying, analyzing, and broadly communicating about these patterns and structures. Read more AERA Statement and Resources in Response to the Justice Department’s Plans to Investigate Affirmative Action Admissions Policies in Higher Education In light of reports that the U.S. Justice Department plans to investigate the use of affirmative action admissions policies at colleges and universities, it is important to reaffirm what the overwhelming body of scientific evidence has found about the value of student diversity and race-conscious admissions policies in higher education. Read more
State-Adopted Credit Hour Policies Associated with Increases in Student Debt but Not Graduation Rates State-adopted policies designed to encourage students to graduate on time are ineffective in improving time-to-degree, while being associated with growing median student loan debt for low- and middle-income students, according to new research published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Read more
AERA Names Four Congressional Fellows for 2017-18 AERA has named four scholars as AERA Congressional Fellows for 2017-18. They will spend a year in Washington, D.C., working on the staff of a member of Congress or a congressional committee, and use their research expertise to inform policy. Read more
Study Snapshot: Comparing Student Performance on Paper-and-Pencil and Computer-Based-Tests Based on a study of more than 30,000 elementary, middle, and high school students conducted in winter 2015–16, researchers found that elementary and middle school students scored lower on a computer-based test that did not allow them to return to previous items than on two comparable tests—paper- or computer-based—that allowed them to skip, review, and change previous responses. Read more
Study Snapshot: All Aid Is Not Created Equal: Examining the Effects of Unsubsidized Federal Loans on Student Persistence Over Time Preliminary results from this study show that for low-income college students, taking out unsubsidized Stafford loans is detrimental to success. Read more
AERA Selects Alfredo Artiles to Deliver 2017 Brown Lecture in Education Research Alfredo J. Artiles, Dean of Graduate Education and the Ryan C. Harris Professor of Special Education at Arizona State University, has been selected by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) to present the 2017 Brown Lecture in Education Research. Read more
Study Snapshot: The Development of Adolescents’ Math and English Self-Concept Patterns and Their Associations With College Major Selection This study is one of the first longitudinal analyses of students’ perceptions of their math and English abilities and of how those perceptions relate to choice of college major. Read more
Study Snapshot: Unmasking College Costs: Challenges in the Era of Differential Tuition Practices In recent years, the implementation of differential tuition (DT) practices by colleges and universities—whether in higher-priced fields of STEM and business, or in the liberal arts—has become a prevalent strategy aimed at increasing revenue. Read more
Study Snapshot: Peer Norms as a Predictor of Academic Achievement: An Ecological Perspective Using 2002 U.S. Department of Education data on 9,748 high school sophomores across 747 public and private schools, researchers found that peer values related to academic achievement and working while in school significantly predicted students’ academic achievement scores, regardless of other various student- and school-level factors. Read more
Study Snapshot: Tuition Discounting at Small, Private Baccalaureate Institutions: Reaching a Point of No Return? Tuition discounting (TD), where institutional grants are used to subsidize a student’s educational expense, has become a common practice at four-year institutions. Read more
AERA to Live-stream 31 Annual Meeting Sessions AERA has announced that it is live-streaming 31 sessions at its 2017 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, April 27-May. Read more AERA Announces 2017 Award Winners in Education Research AERA has announced the winners of its 2017 awards for excellence in education research. Read more Bus-Taking Linked to Lower Kindergarten Absenteeism Kindergarten students who take the school bus have fewer absent days over the school year and are less likely to be chronically absent than children who commute to school in any other way, according to new research published online in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Read more Public Event to Address School Discipline April 12 in Boston Dr. Russell Skiba, an expert on the overuse of exclusionary discipline and the factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in school discipline, will deliver a public lecture titled "School Discipline: Issues of Equity and Effectiveness," as part of AERA's Centennial Lecture Series. Read more
Amy Stuart Wells Voted AERA President-Elect Amy Stuart Wells, Professor of Sociology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, has been voted president-elect of AERA. Read more
Public Event to Address Childhood Poverty and Education Outcomes March 23 in Detroit Dr. Charles Payne, an expert in urban education and school reform, social inequality, social change, and modern African American history, will deliver a public lecture titled "The Limits of Schooling, The Power of Poverty," as part of AERA's Centennial Lecture Series. Read more Press Registration Opens for AERA Annual Meeting The AERA Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of scholars in the field of education research. It is a showcase for ground-breaking, innovative studies in an array of areas – from early education through higher education, from digital learning to second language literacy. Read more AERA Announces Most Read Education Research Articles of 2016 Research on school climate; shifts in race, income and gender-based achievement gaps; learning tools and approaches; and more appeared in the 20 most popular journal articles published by AERA in 2016. Read more
AERA Announces 2017 Fellows AERA has announced the selection of 14 scholars as 2017 AERA Fellows. Read more AERA Announces Free Online Access to Centennial Volume of Review of Research in Education The American Educational Research Association has announced that the 2016 volume of its peer-reviewed journal Review of Research in Education (RRE) is now available online at no cost. Celebrating AERA’s Centennial, the volume has an expanded size and includes 22 chapters that cover a vast terrain of education research topics. Read more
Public Lecture and Forum to Address Early Child Care and Education on February 22 in Oklahoma City Dr. Deborah Lowe Vandell, a renowned researcher on the short-term and long-term effects of early child care and education, will deliver a public lecture titled “The Opportunities and Challenges of Early Child Care and Education,” as part of the American Educational Research Association’s Centennial Lecture Series. The event is free, open to the public, and includes an informal buffet reception. Read more
Statement by AERA President Vivian L. Gadsden and Executive Director Felice J. Levine on the White House Executive Order on Visas and Immigration We are dismayed by the Trump administration’s unprecedented executive order that harshly restricts the travel of immigrant and nonimmigrant visitors to the United States. Read more
AERA Speaks to "Texas Bathroom Bill" Senate Bill 6—the Texas Privacy Act—was introduced in the Texas legislature on January 5, 2017. The proposed legislation, referred to as the “bathroom bill,” mirrors the ideas in North Carolina’s HB2 which was enacted in March 2016. The proposed Texas bill would require people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate, hence discriminating against transgender persons. Read more Leading Researcher Bridget Terry Long to Address College Student Access and Success at Los Angeles Event on Jan. 11 Dr. Bridget Terry Long, a renowned higher education researcher who specializes in the transition from high school to higher education and beyond, will deliver a public lecture titled “Supporting College Student Access and Success: Making Sure Hard Work Pays Off,” as part of the American Educational Research Association’s Centennial Lecture Series. The event is free and open to the public. Read More.