Case Studies: Overview | Classroom | School | District


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Value-added assessment is a powerful diagnostic tool that provides educators with data to inform classroom instruction and increase levels of student achievement. These measures determine the growth of individual students during each academic year and project growth trajectories for the future. For more information on value-added measures, see the Choosing a Value-Added Model page. Accompanied by high-quality training, proactive use of value-added data can serve as the basis for strategic decisions at multiple levels of the system.

  • District level. District administrators can better measure the impact of educational practices - such as classroom curricula, instructional methods, and professional development - on student achievement and make strategic decisions about where to focus resources.
  • School level. School administrators can assess the progress rates of individual students within the school, identify patterns among subgroups of students, and pinpoint specific teacher's strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Classroom level. Teachers can use value-added data to monitor progress and modify instruction to address students' specific instructional needs.


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Value-added models are a much more accurate way of analyzing students' progress than proficiency levels. Proficiency levels provide an indicator of student achievement at one moment of time, and have proven to be highly influenced by factors outside of the control of the classroom teacher. Unlike status measures, value-added models examine how much individual students progressed compared to where they started the year and then determine how much of that growth can be attributed to educational factors. As a result, these measures offer educators a much more accurate way to assess their impact on student learning and adjust their instruction accordingly.

Using value-added as a diagnostic offers the following benefits:

  • Strategic resource allocation. District administrators, school leaders, and classroom teachers can use value-added results to determine the effectiveness of specific policies or practices and make smart decisions about how best to allocate resources.
  • Targeted support. Value-added data can help pinpoint areas where specific teachers need additional support in improving practice.
  • Increased collaboration. Value-added data can serve as the foundation of learning communities, where educators share strategies for what works with specific subgroups of students.
  • Improved morale. For teachers working in low-income schools, value-added data levels the playing field, by providing teachers with a more accurate picture of their impact on student learning.


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Although there hasn't been comprehensive research on the use of value-added as a diagnostic, several recommendations can be offered based on current studies of states and districts employing value-added models. For additional resources, see the websites and tools section.

  • Design accessible user-friendly data systems and reports. Districts must develop data systems that provide educators with user-friendly information. These reports should simplify the complexity of the value-added model so that educators can use the data provided to inform their instructional practice. Information should be made accessible to all relevant stakeholders - including parents, teachers, principals, and district leaders. Programs like SAS® EVAAS generate color-coded reports at the district, school, and classroom level. See the case study pages for sample reports.
  • Rigorously train teachers and provide job-embedded support. Data cannot motivate greater student learning if educators do not understand how to use this new information effectively. Districts interested in maximizing the utility and power of value-added metrics must accompany the implementation of a value-added system with high-quality value-added training. Initial training should be accompanied by ongoing support throughout the school year. Providing additional time for collaboration among educators can help encourage the sharing of best practices. For additional information on training teachers to use value-added assessment, see the Value-Added Training page.
  • Make the results count. By itself, implementing value-added assessment does not lead to improved student learning. Tennessee has had value-added assessment in place since 1992, but despite the availability of the rich diagnostic data, the NAEP scores of the state's students continue to track rather than exceed those of the nation as a whole. To ensure that educators use the metric effectively, districts should attach both positive and negative consequences to the results and make sure that appropriate supports, such as those discussed on the value-added training page, are in place. For more information on how to use value-added as the basis of an accountability system, see the Choosing a Value-Added Model page.
  • Supplement value added data with rich formative assessment. Value-added data provides educators with invaluable information about their instruction; however, this data is only available on an annual basis. Additional formative assessments should be created to help educators monitor student learning and assess instructional practice throughout the course of the year. In conjunction with value-added results, these assessment data can be used as the foundation of professional learning communities. For additional information on formative assessments, see the Formative Assessment case study page.


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  • Evaluating Value-Added: Findings and Recommendations from the NASBE Study Group on Value-Added Assessment
    (National Association of State Boards of Education, 2005)
    The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) formed a Study Group to assess critical factors that need to be in place when implementing value-added assessment. In their report, the authors discuss the power of value-added models as the foundation for classroom, school, and district level improvement. They highlight the following uses: policy and program evaluation, identification of students in need, schoolwide and team planning, individualized professional development, and resource management. While they believe value-added assessment can be a powerful diagnostic, the authors also emphasize the importance of ongoing formative assessment and adequate support systems to sustain the use of data.
  • Measuring What Matters
    (Ted Hershberg, Virginia Adams Simon, and Barbara Lea-Kruger, American School Board Journal 191, no. 2, 2004, 27-31)
    In this article, the authors discuss how value-added assessment can be used to drive student progress. They demonstrate how district administrators can learn whether high achievers, middle achievers, or low achievers are making adequate progress and determine how effective schools and teachers are in raising performance. Patterns emerge from the data that allow teachers to determine the focus of their instruction (previously low, average, or high-achieving students) and its impact on student learning. The authors discuss the implications of several different types of these patterns and explain how value-added assessment could be included as the cornerstone of a comprehensive accountability system.
  • Roundtable Discussion on Value-Added Analysis.
    (Working Group on Teacher Quality, Washington, DC, October 26, 2007)
    In this brief, The Working Group on Teacher Quality documents the results from an expert roundtable discussion on the use of value-added assessment. The goal was to create "a broader understanding of how value-added analysis of student achievement can be used as one indicator of teacher effectiveness and the implications this has for policy and practice." Participants discussed how value-added assessment has led to two changes in instruction: (1) value-added assessment helps principals and teachers become more aware of how their instruction impacts student progress, and (2) the data is now being used to modify practices to better meet students' needs.
  • The Real Value of Teachers
    (Education Trust, Thinking K-16 8, no. 1, Winter 2004)
    This Education Trust report discusses how value-added information about teacher effectiveness can help close the achievement gap. The authors present the findings from conversations with many local educators who emphasize how value-added assessment helped them better understand and improve student learning. Among other recommendations, they suggest that state policy makers develop and support data systems for the collection and analysis of value-added data, district administrators improve teacher effectiveness by providing time and resources for ongoing professional development informed by value-added data, and teachers use value-added data to reflect on practice and plan professional development.
  • Value Added Assessment
    (Evergreen Freedom Foundation, School Directors' Handbook, 2001)
    This report examines how various states and districts have implemented the concept of value-added assessment, identifies potential challenges associated with the metric, and offers several recommendations. On pages 7-9, the authors provide a more detailed description of how value-added assessment has been used at the school level - Maryville Middle School - and district level - Seattle - to improve student achievement. The classification of students by subgroups allows educators to identify specific student needs and create differentiated intervention plans. It can also provide a starting point for educators to talk across grades and even across schools. To realize the potential of the metric, the authors contend that all educators must be committed to using the data to drive instructional decision-making.


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The following resources contain additional ideas and information about value-added as a diagnostic. These tools include examples of value-added operating systems, organizations that work with districts to develop value-added analysis, and examples of value-added reports.

Value-added operating systems

  • Schooling Effectiveness - SAS® EVAAS® provides an overview of the EVAAS value-added models and discusses how the results can be used by policy makers, curriculum specialists, teachers, principals, parents, and students.
  • The Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System: How the Performance Diagnostic Report Fits into Data-Informed Decision-Making PowerPoint presentation discusses school structures for data-driven decision-making at the building, grade, and classroom level and examines how value-added data can be used to identify trends in subgroups and improve student performance.
  • The TVAAS Primer was designed to provide a guide for teachers and principals using value-added assessment in Tennessee. Part 1 discusses how to evaluate and use TVAAS (Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System) results. Part 2 outlines the basic principles of TVAAS. Part 3 details requirements around standardized testing and the use of alternate assessments. Part 4 provides information on other issues, such as cost.

Organizations that work with districts to develop value-added analysis

  • Battelle for Kids is a non-profit organization that is recognized nationally as a leader in empowering educators to use value-added information, along with other data sources, to improve teaching and learning. They develop professional development programs, including training, to help education organizations roll out and use value-added information as a school-improvement tool. For more information on the organization, see Battelle for Kids case study page.
  • The Operation Public Education website answers various questions about value-added assessment and provides additional information on its diagnostic use. With value-added analysis, educators now have a tool that provides them with the ability to determine the focus of their instruction (identifying which students have benefited most) and their instructional impact (how effective it has been in providing students with a year's worth of growth from where they began the year).
  • The Value-Added Research Center develops, applies, and disseminates value-added and longitudinal research methods to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of schools and teachers, and educational programs and policies. The Value-Added Research Center performs groundbreaking work on value-added systems, program and policy evaluation, and data-driven decision making. The Center has developed and implemented value-added models in Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago and provides technical assistance, professional development, and evaluation support.

Examples of value-added reports