Nick Ainsworth

Thanks so much, Cara! It was great seeing you yesterday. And thanks for flagging this for me. Safe travels home from Seattle!

@lmasonwms.bsky.social & @afgilmour.bsky.social presenting year 1 SPARC center findings in Washington 1 right now- variability in the nature of the challenges facing the special ed workforce across states! Check out our year 1 working paper at sparccenter.org

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

New research on #SpecialEducation Personnel Attrition with PA Dept. of Ed shows:

➡️Admins leave more than teachers
➡️Higher attrition among Black educators, urban settings, and more diverse districts
➡️Retention must be role- & context-specific

Learn more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Our researchers recently hosted a webinar on the challenges of identifying #SpecialEducation teachers in state longitudinal data systems (#SLDS). Scroll through some of our initial learnings from our first year analyzing data and stay tuned for a working paper with these results.

New analysis of census data finds LGBTQ folks are underrepresented in teaching: journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...

This is an AWESOME webinar for anyone interested in learning about how to use state longitudinal data systems to study the special education teacher workforce! Researchers, doc students, state data folks - come join us!

So interesting! Congrats on an awesome paper, Lindsey. It’s great to see this out!

Abstract of CALDER working paper, Impacts of Staff Turnover on Test Scores for Students with and without Disabilities."

New @caldercenter.bsky.social WP! A study from my dissertation, w/ @roddy-theobald.bsky.social, @natejones.bsky.social‬, & @lizbettini.bsky.social. We find staff turnover matters for SWDs. Ungated WP & one pager:
• Working paper: tinyurl.com/j3rykkp9
• One-pager: tinyurl.com/bddtzxtp

The Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) 2025 conference is October 8-11 in Chicago! The Special education section would love your submissions & participation. Abstracts due 4/1!

Thanks for considering submitting & sharing with your networks! #SREE2025 @sreesociety.bsky.social

Chair and Full Professor of Special Education - Nashville, Tennessee job with Peabody College of Education and Human Development | 37806156 We are seeking an incoming Chair who will collaborate with our faculty to determine the trajectory of the department and lead an innovative future.

Hi everyone! The Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University is searching for a Chair and Professor to join our faculty in the summer of 2026.

Please share with your networks and happy to chat with anyone interested! jobs.chronicle.com/job/37806156...

Thanks to everyone who attended #AEFP2025 and safe travels home!

We're thinking about how to support members in the year ahead. Feel free to reach out with suggestions, or you can provide ideas on the post-conference survey.

What an honor to be part of this incredible crew. There's so much active policymaking right now, focused on the challenges facing the special ed workforce. We need research to identify which investments are worth it-thanks to IES for investing in that research. Check out our website! sparccenter.org

What a fantastic resource for evidence-based policymaking!! Thanks to everyone at AEFP who put this together!

It's come on and offline since, but.... download what you need ASAP

Article abstract reading "Concerns about school staff shortages are longstanding. However, data on shortages are limited, dated, and rare for non-teaching staff. I use administrative data on unfilled certificated positions in Illinois public schools from the fall of 2022 to paint a detailed picture of shortages across teaching, administrative, and other roles, between districts, and between schools. Teacher and administrator shortage rates are low on average, but shortages of other staff - mostly paraprofessionals - are more severe. However, staff-to-student ratios have increased recently for all staff types. Shortages vary substantially between schools within districts and across urbanicity, grade level, and student characteristics, often in ways that likely exacerbate inequities."

New from me in Education Finance & Policy: Pandemic-Era School Staff Shortages: Evidence from Unfilled Position Data in Illinois

doi.org/10.1162/edfp...

SUBMISSION DEADLINE for our special issue of JREE focused on using longitudinal data to address questions related to disability & education. Please submit or reach out before February 1: think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu...

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🔈new publication alert!
I started this project 7 years ago as a PhD student. It's an extension of my dissertation, and the last of that work to be published (so this feels especially worthy of celebrating). Coauthored w/ former colleagues. 1/n
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Assistant Professor in Quantitative Methods in Educational Research University of California Santa Barbara is hiring. Apply now!

Come work with me and my fantastic colleagues in the Dept of Education @ UCSB. Quant methods position w/application details below. Reach out with q’s
recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02883

🚀 Meet Part One of our amazing leadership team, @roddy-theobald.bsky.social, @afgilmour.bsky.social, @lizbettini.bsky.social, Li Feng, LaRon Scott, and @lmasonwms.bsky.social! Stay tuned for updates on our journey! #SPARCCenter #SpecialEducation

We document substantial recovery from the drops in identification rates associated with the onset of the pandemic, also documented in OR by @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social and covered in reporting by @evieblad.bsky.social and @bethhawkins.bsky.social.

Really interesting and encouraging results from WA about rebounding new ID rates for SpEd services in 2022-23. Despite large declines in 2020 & 2021, schools seem to be catching up. This is important work from a great team. Check out @roddy-theobald.bsky.social’s thread below!

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Check out my latest publication, providing counter-narratives from historically marginalized families in a rural context, surrounding what they desire from early childhood education journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

What’s a Special Education Aide Worth? A $9,607 Raise, to the Average Teacher Survey evidence shows teachers would trade additional salary for expert support

What’s a Special Education Aide Worth? A $9,607 Raise, to the Average Teacher www.educationnext.org/whats-specia...

A good example of the kind of research I've been saying we need more of.

The Effects of Response to Intervention on Disability Identification and Achievement Currently 15 percent of U.S. students receive special education services, a widespread intensive intervention with variable effects on students. Spurred by changes in federal policy, many states and d...

Very excited about this working paper with @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social and @christocleve.bsky.social!

Tldr: RTI adoption lowered SPED identification rates & raised reading achievement among Black students. It did not lower achievement (in either reading or math) for any student subgroups.