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Value-Added Assessment Services
Introduction The value-added assessment system described here was developed by statistician Dr. William Sanders and is transforming education by providing a new lens to examine student achievement. In 1992, Tennessee adopted it as a diagnostic tool for all its classrooms. Since that time, it has been mandated for use by all school districts in Pennsylvania and Ohio as well as in over 300 other school districts or consortia nationwide. Dr. Sanders' program, called Educational Value-Added Assessment System or EVAAS, is now a part of the SAS Institute in Cary, North Carolina. With No Child Left Behind requiring annual testing, educators will now be able to calculate growth scores for every child each year. The great advantage of value-added assessment over this type of simple analysis is its ability to separate the annual growth into two parts: that which can be attributed to the student and that which can be attributed to the classroom, school or district. Drawing on three year's worth of prior academic achievement data in multiple subjects, value-added tells us whether the students in a given classroom, school or district have made a year's worth of progress, have been stretched beyond a year's worth of growth, or are losing ground. The methodology behind value-added assessment is both statistically and computationally complex using mixed models and covariant structures but the concept behind it is straightforward. Test scores are projected for students and compared to their actual scores achieved at the end of the school year, and the difference between the two is analyzed to isolate the impact of teaching on student learning. Value-added is fair to students because their projected scores are based solely on their prior academic record. Since it does not explicitly consider the students' race or socioeconomic background, no bias is introduced. In other words, the stereotypical expectations that low-income minority children will do poorly and wealthy white students will do well have no place in this system. But this powerful and accurate diagnostic tool is also fair to educators precisely because, in basing projected scores on prior academic achievement, value-added assessment takes into account the bias inherent in absolute test scores. What is PVAAS? The Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS) began in June of 2002 as a pilot program of 32 districts funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in partnership with EVAAS. The launching of the pilot was followed in September with a vote by the Pennsylvania Board of Education to mandate value-added assessment statewide in order to assist districts in meeting their federal adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals. The schedule for statewide implementation is as follows: In 2003-4, 30 additional districts will be included on a volunteer basis. In the 2004-5 school year, another 60 districts will join. By 2005-6, the goal as expressed by PDE is to have all 501 school districts using value-added assessment. Value-added assessment offers a unique method of analyzing student achievement data that helps teachers, schools and districts determine whether students are growing at appropriate rates to meet state standards. When understood and used well, it is also a solid foundation for data-driven decision-making and instructional improvement. It provides schools the means to end the isolation of teaching and to create learning communities where teachers are engaged in collaborative work analyzing results and improving classroom instruction. The challenge for educators is in interpreting and using the results of value-added analyses to improve teaching strategies, curricular design, and student interventions. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Value-Added Assessment How do value-added measures differ from adequate yearly progress (AYP) measures?
How can educators respond to No Child Left Behind with a thoughtful, reflective program?
How can we use value-added to improve instruction?
How do we plan for implementation?
School board members, parents, administrators and teachers must have a basic understanding of value-added measures, what they tell us about student progress, and how they will be used by the district, as well as a working knowledge of how to use them in their respective roles. On-going communication with each of these groups will be crucial as value-added assessment is implemented in each district. OPE Staff and Services Operation Public Education (OPE), an initiative of the Center for Greater Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, can support districts as they implement value-added assessment and learn how to use it to improve their instructional programs. OPE has expanded its staff, and through its collaboration with EVAAS has the expertise to provide professional development and organizational support for teachers, schools, districts and communities by providing customized training modules to address their needs. These modules can be used as part of in-service days, retreats, school board or PTA meetings. Dr. Ted Hershberg, Director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia and Professor of Public Policy and History at the University of Pennsylvania, is an expert on value-added assessment and has lectured to audiences nationwide. Recent presentations include: the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA), the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the Pennsylvania Association for Elementary and Secondary School Principals (PAESSP), the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Education Committee, Deans of Education Schools in Pennsylvania, and Chamber of Commerce groups statewide. Dr. Hershberg's presentation uses Dr. Sanders' data from Tennessee and provides the following:
This presentation is ideal for introducing value-added assessment to school boards, parents, and administrators, as well as teachers. Virginia Adams Simon is the Associate Director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia, and the Program Manager for OPE. Also a doctoral student in the Mid-Career Doctorate Program at Penn's Graduate School of Education, Ginger spent the last year working with one of the PVAAS pilot districts as a consultant/researcher helping them to design their implementation and training program. She will work with districts to develop implementation, communication, and training strategies based on the individual needs of each district. This type of service may include:
This service is ideal for principals, curriculum developers, and other organizational leaders who will be involved in value-added implementation. Dr. Stanley Herman is the recently retired Superintendent of the Woodland Hills School District in Allegheny County. After retirement he served as the Vice-President of the Education Policy and Issues Center, where he headed a team assisting school districts with the analysis of data including the Pennsylvania Added Assessment pilot. He is currently serving as an educational consultant to school districts developing strategies to organize and use educational data to drive instructional decisions. Dr. Herman may provide the following services:
This service is ideal for superintendents, school board members, principals, curriculum developers, teachers and other organizational leaders who will be involved in value-added implementation. For more information about arranging for these support services for your district or community, please contact: Operation Public Education | ||||||||
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