Recently, educational researchers and practitioners have turned to value-added models to evaluate teacher performance. Although value-added estimates depend on the assessment used to measure student achievement, the importance of outcome selection has received scant attention in the literature. Using data from a large, urban school district, I…

Adopting a new series of tests can raise student test scores. Scores can also be inflated by ensuring certain students do not take specific tests or by not counting some scores. Dramatic rises in standardized scores are likely to be accompanied by skepticism. (MD)