Tennessee\u27s National Impact on Teacher Evaluation Law & Policy: An Assessment of Value-Added Model Litigation

Over the last decade or so, federal and state education policymakers embraced the use of value added models (VAMs) to evaluate teachers’ performance and make high-stakes employment decisions (e.g., tenure, merit pay, termination of employment). VAMs are complicated statistical models that attempt to estimate a teacher’s contribution to student test scores, particularly those in mathematics and reading. Educational researchers, as well as many teachers and unions, however, have objected to the use of VAMs noting that these models fail to adequately account for variables outside of teachers’ control that contribute to a student’s education performance. Subsequently, many teachers challenged the use of VAMs through the courts. This article assesses those challenges

Pesquisa dos Modelos de Valor Adicionado (MVA) para as políticas de educação: Delimitação da discussão

In this manuscript, the guest editors of the EPAA Special Issue on “Value-Added Model (VAM) Research for Educational Policy” (1) introduce the background and policy context surrounding the increased use of VAMs for teacher evaluation and accountability purposes across the United States; (2) summarize the five research papers and one research-based commentary that were peer-reviewed and selected for inclusion in this special issue; and (3) discuss the relevance of the papers both individually and collectively. Their importance is discussed in terms of each paper’s contribution to the general research on this topic and each paper’s potential to inform educational policy. In addition, the papers reflect our shared thinking about VAMs, VAM output, and the inference-based decisions for which VAMs are increasingly being used.En este artículo, los editores invitados de este número especial de EPAA/AAPE sobre la investigación  de los Modelos de Valor Agregado (MVA) para las políticas educativas: (1) presentan los antecedentes y el contexto político que rodean la utilización de MVA en la evaluación de los docentes y rendición de cuentas en los Estados Unidos, (2) un resumen de los cinco trabajos de investigación y el  comentarios que fueron seleccionados para su inclusión en este número especial, y (3) analizamos la pertinencia de los documentos, tanto individual como colectivamente. Su importancia se discuten en términos de la contribución de cada documento para la investigación general sobre este tema y el potencial de cada artículo para informar la política educativa. Además, los documentos reflejan nuestro pensamiento sobre la producción de MVA y las decisiones basadas en MVA son cada vez más utilizados.Neste artigo, os editores convidados desta edição especial da EPAA/AAPE sobre a Pesquisa dos Modelos de Valor Adicionado (MVA) para as políticas de educação: (1) Apresentam  o contexto político em torno do uso dos MVA na avaliação de professores e de responsabilização nos Estados Unidos, (2) um resumo dos cinco trabalhos de pesquisa e o comentário que foram selecionados para inclusão nesta edição especial, e (3) analisar a relevância dos trabalhos selecionados tanto individualmente como coletivamente. Sua importância é discutida em termos da contribuição de cada artigo para a pesquisa geral sobre este tema e as potencialidades de cada artigo para informar a política educacional. Além disso, os artigos refletem o nosso pensamento sobre a produção de decisões e MVA, e como são cada vez mais utilizados

“Rational” Observational Systems of Educational Accountability and Reform

There is something incalculable about teacher expertise and whether it can be observed, detected, quantified, and as per current educational policies, used as an accountability tool to hold America’s public school teachers accountable for that which they do (or do not do well). In this commentary, authors (all of whom are former public school teachers) argue that rubric-based teacher observational systems, developed to assess the extent to which teachers adapt and follow sets of rubric-based rules, might actually constrain teacher expertise. Moreover, authors frame their comments using the Dreyfus Model (1980, 1986) to illustrate how observational systems and the rational conceptions on which they are based might be stifling educational progress and reform. Accessed 4,702 times on https://pareonline.net from August 20, 2015 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Allocation to Groups: Examples of Lord\u27s Paradox

Background Educational and developmental psychologists often examine how groups change over time. Two analytic procedures – analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and the gain score model – each seem well suited for the simplest situation, with just two groups and two time points. They can produce different results, what is known as Lord\u27s paradox. Aims Several factors should influence a researcher\u27s analytic choice. This includes whether the score from the initial time influences how people are assigned to groups. Examples are shown, which will help to explain this to researchers and students, and are of educational relevance. It is shown that a common method used to measure school effectiveness is biased against schools that serve students from groups that are historically poor performing. Methods and results The examples come from sports and measuring educational effectiveness (e.g., for teachers or schools). A simulation study shows that if the covariate influences group allocation, the ANCOVA is preferred, but otherwise, the gain score model may be appropriate. Regression towards the mean is used to account for these findings. Conclusions Analysts should consider the relationship between the covariate and group allocation when deciding upon their analytic method. Because the influence of the covariate on group allocation may be complex, the appropriate method may be complex. Because the influence of the covariate on group allocation may be unknown, the choice of method may require several assumptions

Evaluating teacher evaluation

There is a growing consensus that evidence of teachers' contributions to student learning should be a component of teacher evaluation systems, along with evidence about the quality of teachers' practice. Value-added models (VAMs), designed to evaluate student test score gains from one year to the next are often promoted as tools to accomplish this goal. However, current research suggests that VAM ratings are not sufficiently reliable or valid to support high-stakes, individual-level decisions about teachers. Other tools for teacher evaluation have shown greater success in measuring and improving teaching, especially those that examine teachers' practices in relation to professional standards