American Institutes for Research

Kerstin Carlson Le Floch is a managing researcher at AIR, specializing in school improvement, state accountability policies, and Title I implementation. At present, Dr. Le Floch directs the Study of School Turnaround for IES, a large-scale case study investigation of the implementation of the School Improvement Grants under ARRA. Thus far, this study has produced six IES publications, including a rigorous case study report on the first year of SIG implementation. From 2003-2008, Dr. Le Floch directed the Study of State Implementation of Accountability and Teacher Quality under NCLB for the U.S. Department of Education. Through the SSI-NCLB, Dr. Le Floch managed two waves of data collection from state officials, each consisting of approximately 200 interviews, with a 100 percent response rate. Dr. Le Floch also acted as the deputy project director on the partner study, the National Longitudinal Study of No Child Left Behind. Together, these two studies constituted the primary data sources for the Congressionally-mandated National Assessment of Title I. For these studies, she has been a lead or primary author on six reports on key components of NCLB. In addition to her work studying NCLB implementation, Dr. Le Floch directs a mixed-method evaluation of Michigan’s statewide system of support for high priority schools, and has conducted research on the California state system of accountability, through AIR’s study of the Immediate Intervention/ Underperforming Schools Program.

Dr. Le Floch also concluded a Gates Foundation-funded study of state supports for low-performing high schools. In the context of the National Longitudinal Evaluation of Comprehensive School Reform, she directed the development of district and school-level surveys, and conducted state interviews, school-level case studies, and related analyses. In addition to studies for at the federal and state levels, Dr. Le Floch also conducted an evaluation for the New York City Department of Education, of the implementation of the ARIS technology platform.

Prior to joining AIR, Dr. Le Floch worked with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), collecting data on state assessment and accountability policies under the Improving America’s Schools Act. Dr. Le Floch presents regularly at national and international conferences, provides expert testimony, and has published technical reports, book chapters, and journal articles on issues related to accountability and school improvement.