The Answer Sheet: value added measures


Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 01/18/2011

Ravitch: The pitfalls of putting economists in charge of education
By Valerie Strauss
Diane Ravitch writes, "It is astonishing to realize the extent to which education debates are now framed and dominated by economists, not by educators or sociologists or cognitive psychologists or anyone else who actually spends time in classrooms."

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:00 PM ET, 01/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch | Tags:  diane ravitch, gates foundation, gates-funded project, mike rose, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, value-added, value-added measures

Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 01/14/2011

The biggest flaw in Gates value-added study
By Valerie Strauss
Were the conclusions of a major Gates Foundation study on value-added measures to evaluate teachers predetermined?

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:00 PM ET, 01/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  MET project, MET study, assessing teachers, bill gates, bill gates foundation, gates foundation, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, value-added, value-added measures

Posted at 11:01 AM ET, 01/13/2011

New analysis challenges Gates study on value-added measures
By Valerie Strauss
A new analysis challenges a Gates Foundation study said to support the validity of value-added measures to evaluate teachers by using students' standardized test scores.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:01 AM ET, 01/13/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  bill gates, gates foundation, gates foundation study, gates-funded research, how to evaluate teachers, teacher assessment, value-added, value-added measures

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/07/2011

What 2010 education research really shows about reform
By Valerie Strauss
A review of 2010 education research on charter schools, value-added measures and merit pay shows that the results were not great news for supporters of these reforms.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/07/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  charter schools, education research, market-based reforms, shankar blog, value-added, value-added measures

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/01/2010

Is D.C.'s teacher evaluation system rigged?
By Valerie Strauss
A professor writes about teacher evaluation systems: "The pendulum has simply swung from one end of absurdity to the other; if many systems have historically rated 99 percent of teachers 'satisfactory,' ... we now have in D.C. a system that declares exactly 50 percent of teachers ineffective or minimally effective."

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:00 AM ET, 11/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teacher assessment, Teacher assessment, Teacher assessment | Tags:  d.c. and impact, impact, michelle rhee, nyc teacher ratings, rhee legacy, teacher evaluation, teacher ratings, value added measures, value-added

Posted at 11:23 AM ET, 08/17/2010

Willingham: Big questions about the LA Times teachers project
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham explains why using value-added measures to judge the effectiveness of a teacher is a mistake, and says that the Los Angeles Times writers who helped evaluate more than 6,000 teachers in this fashion, "are either uniformed or disingenuous about the status of the value-added measures."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:23 AM ET, 08/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  daniel willingham, la times story, la times story on teachers, los angeles times and teachers, research and value added, teacher evaluation, value added evaluation, value added measures

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/29/2010

Study: Error rates high when student test scores used to evaluate teachers
By Valerie Strauss
I don’t understand all of a new statistical study about error rates when student test scores are used to evaluate teachers and schools, but I do get this: The rates are so high that they should give pause to even the most ardent admirers of such evaluation systems.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  error rates and value-added, evaluating teachers, high-stakes decisions and teacher evaluation, mathematica study, teacher evaluation, value-added measures

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 05/14/2010

Don't rush to link teacher evaluation to student achievement
By Valerie Strauss
The president of Teachers College at Columbia University writes about the problems with President Obama's proposal to link teacher evaluation to student performance.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 05/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  National Standards, National Standards, National Standards | Tags:  No Child Left Behind, Teachers College, guest bloggers, linking teacher evaluation to student performance, value-added measures