Controlling for Student Background in Value-Added Assessment of Teachers

2004 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Ballou ◽  
William Sanders ◽  
Paul Wright
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Student Background ◽  
Background Factors ◽  
Fixed Effects Estimator ◽  
History Of

The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System measures teacher effectiveness on the basis of student gains, implicitly controlling for socioeconomic status and other background factors that influence initial levels of achievement. The absence of explicit controls for student background has been criticized on the grounds that these factors influence gains as well. In this research we modify the TVAAS by introducing commonly used controls for student SES and demographics. The introduction of controls at the student level has a negligible impact on estimated teacher effects in the TVAAS, though not in a simple fixed effects estimator with which the TVAAS is compared. The explanation lies in the TVAAS’s exploitation of the covariance of tests in different subjects and grades, whereby a student’s history of test performance substitutes for omitted background variables.

Teacher Effects and Teacher Effectiveness: A Validity Investigation of the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haggai Kupermintz
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
Teaching Effectiveness ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
Background Characteristics ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Validation Research ◽  
Value Added Measures

This article addresses the validity of teacher evaluation measures produced by the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS). The system analyzes student test score data and estimates the effects of individual teachers on score gains. These effects are used to construct teacher value-added measures of teaching effectiveness. We describe the process of generating teacher effectiveness estimates in TVAAS and discuss policy implications of using these estimates for accountability purposes. Specifically, the article examines the TVAAS definition of teacher effectiveness, the mechanism employed in calculating numerical estimates of teacher effectiveness, and the relationships between these estimates and student ability and socioeconomic background characteristics. Our validity analyses point to several logical and empirical weaknesses of the system, and underscore the need for a strong validation research program on TVAAS.

scholarly journals Using the TxVAAS to Improve Teacher Effectiveness: Investigating the Research-Situated “Truths” Behind TxVAAS Claims

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley ◽  
Clarin Collins
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Psychological Testing ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Education Value

At the time of this study, the Texas Value-Added Assessment System (TxVAAS) was being piloted throughout Texas to hold teachers more accountable for their effects on students' achievement (i.e., teachers’ value added). It is still being used by districts throughout Texas today. Using a framework informed by the<em> Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing</em>, researchers conducted a content analysis of the marketing and research-based claims asserted about the TxVAAS, to (a) examine the “truth” of each claim to (b) help others critically consume the marketing claims using (c) nonproprietary, peer-reviewed literature. Given that the more popular, and also proprietary version of the TxVAAS—the Education Value-Added Assessment System—continues to be sold and marketed to other states and districts in similar ways, researchers deemed it critical to intervene before other states and districts might blindly trust the marketing and research-based claims presented.

Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Regression To The Mean ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
Paradigm Case ◽  
Student Background ◽  
Data Regression ◽  
Value Added Models ◽  
Education Value

Value-added models help to evaluate the knowledge that school districts, schools, and teachers add to student learning as students progress through school. In this article, the well-known Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) is examined. The author presents a practical investigation of the methodological issues associated with the model. Specifically, she argues that, although EVAAS is probably the most sophisticated value-added model, it has flaws that must be addressed before widespread adoption. She explores in depth the shortage of external reviews and validity studies of the model, its insufficient user-friendliness, and methodological issues about missing data, regression to the mean, and student background variables. She also examines a paradigm case in which the model was used to advance unfounded assertions.

scholarly journals A longitudinal study of suicide and suicide attempt in northwest of Iran: incidence, predictors, and socioeconomic status and the role of sociocultural status

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Fakhari ◽  
Mostafa Farahbakhsh ◽  
Elham Davtalab Esmaeili ◽  
Hosein Azizi
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Religious Commitment ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multiple Variable ◽  
History Of

Abstract Background A detailed community-level understanding of socioeconomic status (SES) and sociocultural status (SCS) of suicides and suicide attempters (SAs) in a prospective design could have significant implications for policymakers at the local prevention and treatment levels. The effect of SCS and SES on SAs is poorly understood and investigated in Iran. The present study aimed to investigate the incidence, trend, and role of SES and SCS on suicide and SAs. Methods A longitudinal study was conducted based on the registry for SAs in Malekan County, Iran, from 2015 to 2018. Demographic characteristics, SES, SCS, incidence rates, and predictors of suicidal behaviors were measured via structured instruments. Simple and multiple logistic regressions were used to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 853 SAs (32 suicides and 821 attempts) were identified during the study. Trend analysis revealed that the suicide rate significantly decreased from 2014 (10.28) to 2018 (1.75) per 100,000. In the final multiple variable models, age (26–40), male sex, unemployment, antisocial activities, history of SA, hanging method, and season (spring) increased the suicide risk while religious commitment had protective effects on suicide. Conclusions Our findings indicated that demographic characteristics, low SES, and SCS are associated with suicide. In this county, trend of suicide and SA were decreased from 2014 to 2018. This study findings highlight the need to consider a wide range of contextual variables, socio-demographic, SES, and SCS in suicide prevention strategies. Improving inter-sectoral collaborations and policymakers’ attitudes are imperative for SA reduction.

Disparities in the Enrollment and Timing of Special Education for Asian American and Pacific Islander Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
North Cooc
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Background Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Student Background ◽  
Ethnic Subgroups

School districts in the United States are required to monitor the overrepresentation of students of color in special education, yet recent studies have challenged these trends and suggest students of color may be underrepresented for services guaranteed under federal law. Missing in many of these discussions on disproportionality are the needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), a group consistently underrepresented in special education. Previous studies, however, do not examine the vast heterogeneity in experiences among AAPIs and how special education trends may differ across AAPI ethnic subgroups. Using longitudinal data on 10 cohorts of 42,807 total kindergartners from a school district over a 10-year period, this study probes deeper into underrepresentation by disaggregating participation trends and the timing of services for 11 AAPI ethnic subgroups. Results indicate that most AAPI student groups are underrepresented in special education and first receive services later than White peers. These patterns remain even after accounting for student background, level of acculturation, and school fixed effects.

scholarly journals Determinants of Firm Performance: Evidence from Romanian Listed Companies

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Lazăr
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Sales Growth ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
Firm Profitability ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Effect

AbstractThe paper investigates firm-specific determinants of firm profitability for Romanian listed companies over the 2000-2011 period within the framework of resource based view of the firm. The results show that tangibles, leverage, size and labour intensity have negative effect on firm performance, while sales growth and value added have a positive effect. The results prove robust when introducing two-way fixed effects model and industry year effects model (in order to simultaneously account for specific industry characteristics and time effects).

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