ERIC Number: EJ1249471
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1931-6569
EISSN: N/A
All Value-Added Models (VAMs) Are Wrong, but Sometimes They May Be Useful
Amrein-Beardsley, Audrey; Sloat, Edward; Holloway, Jessica
AASA Journal of Scholarship & Practice, v17 n1 p31-39 Spr 2020
In this study, researchers compared the concordance of teacher-level effectiveness ratings derived via six common generalized value-added model (VAM) approaches including a (1) student growth percentile (SGP) model, (2) value-added linear regression model (VALRM), (3) value-added hierarchical linear model (VAHLM), (4) simple difference (gain) score model, (5) rubric-based performance level (growth) model, and (6) simple criterion (percent passing) model. The study sample included fourth to sixth grade teachers employed in a large, suburban school district who taught the same sets of students, at the same time, and for whom a consistent set of achievement measures and background variables were available. Findings indicate that ratings significantly and substantively differed depending upon the methodological approach used. Findings, accordingly, bring into question the validity of the inferences based on such estimates, especially when high-stakes decisions are made about teachers as based on estimates measured via different, albeit popular methods across different school districts and states.
Descriptors: Value Added Models, Teacher Effectiveness, Elementary School Teachers, Teacher Evaluation, Validity, Reliability, Inferences, Evaluation Methods
AASA, The School Superintendent's Association. 1615 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Tel: 703-528-0700; Fax: 703-841-1543; e-mail: info@aasa.org; Web site: http://www.aasa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A