Value-Added Assessment in Louisiana

Louisiana's accountability model consists of two measures: growth and performance. Students take the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21 st Century (LEAP 21) criterion reference test in grades four, eight, and ten; and the Iowa tests in grades three, five, seven, and nine. Scores of both are used to calculate an index each year. Schools are then assigned a School Performance Score (SPS) using weighted averages of each test as well as using attendance and dropout rates.

Using scores from the previous two years, schools measure growth and set a target amount of growth for the following year. Targets are adjusted according to the percentage of special education and limited English proficient students. Schools who are not meeting their targets are offered School Improvement (SI) services.

Value-Added Teacher Preparation Program Assessment

The Louisiana Board of Regents is funding a study to examine the technical qualities and adequacy of the Value-Added Teacher Preparation Program Assessment Model when using data across all of the state's 68 school districts. The study will seek to establish the reliability of the value-added assessment, determine the amount of data needed to obtain stable estimates, determine the validity of the value-added assessment estimates, extend the work to early literacy, extend the work to educational leadership variables, and examine a broader array of variables.

Once the study is fully validated, it is expected that the results will be valuable in establishing best practices in teacher education and improving the performance of all colleges of education in the state.

Links to important websites

Louisiana Department of Education, http://www.doe.state.la.us/

Louisiana Board of Regents, Division of Academic & Student Affairs , Teacher Education Initiatives Value-Added Teacher Preparation Program Assessment Model, http://asa.regents.state.la.us/TE/value_added_model

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