Value-addedby Dr. William Sanders

Let’s really leave no child behind.

What have we really been doing with data?

• Historically, we have been shelving it into a filing cabinet.

What are the problems with how we look at data now?

• We see how the middle level students of our classes perform but does our current system really measure our highest and lowest performers?

Introducing the value-added method

• It works much like a pediatrician’s scale. It measures growth from year to year.

Purposes of measurement:

• Measure each child• One day’s testing could be influenced by a

variety of factors• Look at comparable plots on many children

can lead us to inferences about certain classrooms

• Each student serves as his/her own control

The goal of value-added

• Increase the academic achievement for every child

800

200

400

600

Sample scores

Student grade

2 3 4 5

What inferences can we make from this data?

DistrictStudent

• This is not enough data to accurately show information about the teacher of first or second grade.

• What if we saw the progress of all the students in that teacher’s class and then for various years?

Types of Patterns

• Shed patterns – some of the most hurtful that exist in schools. This happens when the lowest achievers make the greatest gains and the highest achievers are held back.

Previous Achievement

Gain

“Shed” pattern

• Tee-Pee patterns – this occurs when teachers focus their instruction on the average students in the class. Average students make the greatest gain and those at the top and bottom of the class have less gain.

“Tee-Pee” pattern

Previous achievement

Gain

June River’s Study

• Examined the performance of eighth grade students on ninth grade proficiency tests and linked these scores back to performance on fourth grade tests to predict the possibility of passing on the first attempt a ninth grade test.

Findings:

• Students assigned a sequence of teachers in the top quintile for 4 years had a 60% passing rate.

• Students assigned a sequence of teachers from the bottom quintile had a 15% passing rate.

Grade level

100% 80% 110% 110% 120% 60%

2 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

3 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.1 2.2 1.8

4 4.0 3. 4.2 3.2 3.4 2.6

5 6.0 4.4 5.3 4.3 4.6 3.4

6 6.0 5.2 6.4 5.4 5.8 4.2

7 7.0 6.0 7.5 6.5 7.0 5.0

8 8.0 6.8 8.6 7.6 8.2 5.8

Realized Gain

Why is this important?

• Value-added research tells us that teacher effectiveness is the single largest factor affecting academic growth.

Highly effective teachers

• Ensure that all children are achieving

• Teach students from where they are

• Differentiate instruction and focus on individuals

• Make excellent gains across the previous achievement spectrum

Highly effective schools

• Link teachers over grade levels and focus on gains in achievement grade by grade.