Putting Growth and Value-Added Models on the Map: A National Overview

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarin Collins ◽  
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
English Language ◽  
Data Use ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Value Added Models ◽  
Value Added Model ◽  
Arts Teachers ◽  
Teacher Evaluation Systems ◽  
National Growth

Background Within the last few years, the focus on educational accountability has shifted from holding students responsible for their own performance to holding those shown to impact student performance responsible—students’ teachers. Encouraged and financially incentivized by federal programs, states are becoming ever more reliant on statistical models used to measure students’ growth or value added and are attributing such growth (or decline) to students’ teachers of record. As states continue to join the growth and value-added model movement, it is difficult to find inclusive resources documenting the types of models used and plans for each state. Objective To capture state initiatives in this area, researchers collected data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia to provide others with an inclusive national growth and value-added model overview. Data yielded include information about the types of growth or value-added models used in each state, the legislature behind each state's reform efforts, the standardized tests used for growth or value-added calculations, and the strengths and weaknesses of each state's models as described by state personnel. Method This article synthesizes qualitative and quantitative themes as identified from data collected via multiple phone interviews and emails with state department of education personnel in charge of their own state's initiatives in this area, as well as state websites. These data provide the most inclusive and up-to-date resource on national growth and value-added data usage, noting however that this is changing rapidly across the nation, given adjustments in policies, pieces of legislation, and the like. Conclusions Findings from this study provide a one-stop resource on what each state has in place or in development regarding growth or value-added model use as a key component of its state-based teacher evaluation systems. Despite widespread use, however, not one state has yet articulated a plan for formative data use by teachers. Federal and state leaders seem to assume that implementing growth and value-added models leads to simultaneous data use by teachers. In addition, state representatives expressed concern that the current emphasis on growth and value-added models could be applied to only math and English/language arts teachers with state standardized assessments (approximately 30% of all teachers). While some believe the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and its associated tests will help to alleviate such issues with fairness, more research is needed surrounding (the lack of) fairness and formative use associated with growth and value-added models.

Differences in Intellectual Challenge of Writing Tasks among Higher and Lower Value-Added English Language Arts Teachers

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Chandra L. Alston ◽  
Michelle T. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Intellectual Quality ◽  
Arts Teachers ◽  
Intellectual Challenge

Background Writing is an essential literacy skill; however, public school students often receive inadequate writing instruction, particularly as they move into middle and high school. However, research has shown that the nature of writing tasks assigned can impact writing development and student achievement measured by standardized assessments. With the need to assess teacher efficacy, districts are increasingly using some form of value-added modeling, although researchers warn of relying solely on value-added scores to distinguish between more and less effective teachers. Purpose This study investigated the intellectual challenge of typical writing tasks and the intellectual quality of student work in classrooms of higher and lower value-added middle school English language arts teachers to understand what value-added modeling might capture in terms of writing instruction. In particular, this article investigates how higher and lower value-added teachers differ in terms of (1) the intellectual challenge of typical tasks assigned, (2) the quality of supports surrounding the tasks, and (3) the quality of student work produced. Research Design Data for this study were collected as part of a larger study that identified pairs of middle school ELA teachers within the same school who were in their third through fifth years of teaching. Within each school, we identified at least one teacher in the fourth (top) quartile and one in the second (lower) quartile based on their measures of value-added to student achievement. We analyzed the typical and challenging writing tasks and corresponding student work for the intellectual quality, looking within and across the two groups of teachers to document patterns of instructional practices. Conclusions We found differences in the consistency of challenge and scaffolds between the two groups, with higher value-added teachers more consistently providing challenging and supportive tasks. Teachers whose typical writing tasks maintain a high degree of challenge are associated with higher student performance, as defined by a measure of teacher value-added. This implies the importance of educating teachers regarding the importance and nature of challenging assignments.

scholarly journals State educational agencies in an uncertain environment: Understanding state provided networks of English Language Arts curricular resources

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Serena J. Salloum ◽  
Emily M. Hodge ◽  
Susanna L. Benko
Keyword(s):  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Quadratic Assignment ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Arts Teachers ◽  
Organizational Ties ◽  
State Educational

Rapid adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the Race to the Top (RTTT) competition, and backlash around these policies created widespread uncertainty among state educational agencies (SEAs). SEAs may have not had a clear direction about how to support standards implementation in a new context, and therefore, may have looked to their professional networks, their geographic neighbors or other highly regarded SEAs, or other sources for information and resources to guide their decisions about where to send teachers for information about standards. Drawing on institutional theory (Meyer Rowan, 1977) and isomorphism specifically (DiMaggio Powell, 1983), we posit that coercive forces (primarily due to RTTT application and CCSS status) as compared to mimetic and normative forces influenced the organizations to which SEAs turn for curriculum materials. Using Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure and a data set of over 2,000 state-provided resources for secondary English Language Arts teachers from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., we indeed found that coercive forces had a relationship with shared organizational ties, demonstrating that RTTT application and CCSS adoption influenced resource provision.

Do Low-Income Students Have Equal Access to Effective Teachers?

2021 ◽  
pp. 016237372110405
Author(s):  
Eric Isenberg ◽  
Jeffrey Max ◽  
Philip Gleason ◽  
Jonah Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
A Value ◽  
Value Added Model ◽  
Standard Deviations

We examine access to effective teachers for low-income students in 26 geographically dispersed school districts over a 5-year period. We measure teacher effectiveness using a value-added model that accounts for measurement error in prior test scores and peer effects. Differences between the average value added of teachers of high- and low-income students are 0.005 standard deviations in English/language arts and 0.004 standard deviations in math. Differences between teachers of Black, Hispanic, and White students are also small. Rearranging teachers to obtain perfect equity would do little to narrow the sizable student achievement gap between low- and high-income students. We also show that a higher proportion of novice teachers in high-poverty schools contributes negligibly to differences in access to effective teachers.

The Role of Writing in RTI at the Secondary Level

2015 ◽  
pp. 102-128
Author(s):  
Dawn S. Herring
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
English Language ◽  
Written Communication ◽  
Struggling Writers ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Content Area Teachers ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Arts Teachers ◽  
Good Writing

A focus on teaching effective written communication skills is a necessity in our nation's schools. Students need to develop good writing skills not only to ensure academic success but also to later thrive in the workplace and in society as a whole. For struggling writers, difficulties with written communication that emerged during elementary school will persist into middle school, high school, and beyond if effective interventions are not employed. Implementing a Response to Intervention (RTI) literacy model that promotes the integration of writing across the curriculum can help schools make huge strides in improving the motivations, skills, and outcomes of struggling writers. This chapter presents specific elements of effective writing instruction as well as instructional strategies that can be employed within an RTI framework to assist struggling writers school wide. The focus is on informing not only English/language arts teachers but also content area teachers on research-based classroom writing supports.

It’s All about Personal Connections

2012 ◽  
pp. 185-202
Author(s):  
Luke Rodesiler ◽  
Lauren Tripp
Keyword(s):  
Language Arts ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
English Language ◽  
Networked Learning ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Secondary English Language Arts ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
Arts Teachers

Given the potential of informal online learning via social networks for supporting the career-long professional growth of in-service teachers, research must be conducted to better understand the ways in which today’s future teachers are being prepared for and experiencing such practice. This chapter presents the authors’ efforts to move in that direction, a qualitative study describing six pre-service secondary English language arts teachers’ perceptions of self-directed networked learning during a teaching internship. Findings suggest that participants perceived networked learning as a viable and valuable approach to supplementing professional growth despite also perceiving challenges in the form of context, identity, and time.

Designing for Purpose-Driven Technology Use Among Preservice English Teachers

2020 ◽  
pp. 519-546
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Higgs
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Digital Tool ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Arts Teachers

This chapter reports on a case study of a 12-week technology course for preservice English language arts teachers in which the teacher educator attempted to shift away from tool-centric approaches by foregrounding purpose-driven tool use and project-based learning experiences. Findings from analyses of classroom, interview, and survey data suggested that specific design choices helped to promote purpose-driven technology use for literacy learning. These included the instructor's articulation and modeling of a “pedagogy first” stance that centered pedagogical reasons for digital tool use and affordances of digital tools, and the organization of a project-based learning environment that engaged preservice teachers in hands-on exploration of digitally mediated ELA learning through continual cycles of making, sharing, and reflecting on digital artifacts.

scholarly journals Estimating Private School Premium for Primary School Children in Ethiopia: Evidence from Individual-level Panel Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-44
Author(s):  
Godstime Osekhebhen Eigbiremolen
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Value Added Models ◽  
Value Added Model ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Unobserved Ability

This article presents the first value-added model of private school effect in Ethiopia, using the unique Young Lives longitudinal data. I found a substantial and statistically significant private school premium (about 0.5 standard deviation) in Maths, but not in Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). Private school premium works for both low and high ability children. The results are robust to sorting on unobserved ability, grouping on lag structures and transfer between private and public schools. Combined with available contextual data, empirical evidence suggests that the effectiveness of private primary schools may be due to more learning time and teacher’s attention enjoyed by students. I also attempted to contribute methodologically to the literature by directly testing the structural assumption underpinning value-added models.

Does Student Sorting Invalidate Value-Added Models of Teacher Effectiveness? An Extended Analysis of the Rothstein Critique

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Koedel ◽  
Julian R. Betts
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
First Year ◽  
Value Added Models ◽  
Value Added Model ◽  
Extended Analysis ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Value Added Modeling ◽  
Student Sorting

Value-added modeling continues to gain traction as a tool for measuring teacher performance. However, recent research questions the validity of the value-added approach by showing that it does not mitigate student-teacher sorting bias (its presumed primary benefit). Our study explores this critique in more detail. Although we find that estimated teacher effects from some value-added models are severely biased, we also show that a sufficiently complex value-added model that evaluates teachers over multiple years reduces the sorting bias problem to statistical insignificance. One implication of our findings is that data from the first year or two of classroom teaching for novice teachers may be insufficient to make reliable judgments about quality. Overall, our results suggest that in some cases value-added modeling will continue to provide useful information about the effectiveness of educational inputs.

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