Evaluation of the effectiveness of higher education has received unprecedented attention from stakeholders at many levels. The Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) is one of the initiatives to evaluate institutional core educational outcomes (e.g., critical thinking, written communication) using standardized tests. As promising as the VSA…

Despite questions about validity and reliability, the use of value-added estimation methods has moved beyond academic research into state accountability systems for teachers, schools, and teacher preparation programs (TPPs). Prior studies of value-added measurement for TPPs test the validity of researcher-designed models and find that measuring…

The purpose of this technical assistance paper is to provide a description of the procedures used to determine school grades for the 2014 school year. Florida's current school accountability system originated with state legislation passed in 1999 (the "A+ Plan") and has been revised periodically to reflect increased standards and…

Accountability mechanisms in adult education, their constitution and their effects, are of increasing concern in an era threatening massive reductions to resources for adult education activity. Such mechanisms are frequently portrayed as unassailably oppressive. However, alternative analyses have illuminated contradictions and ambiguities in the…

Background: In line with the increase of using value-added assessment information to evaluate learning gain made by learners in different parts of the world, the Education Bureau in Hong Kong has recently introduced a system that provides value-added information of secondary school students. However, not many teachers have a clear knowledge and…

Value-added models of student achievement have received widespread attention in light of the current test-based accountability movement. These models use longitudinal growth modeling techniques to identify effective schools or teachers based upon the results of changes in student achievement test scores. Given their increasing popularity, this…

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…

Recently NWEA completed a project to connect the scale of the WKCE with NWEA's RIT scale. Six Wisconsin school systems participated in the study, using test information from a group of over 1,500 students enrolled in fourth, eighth, and tenth grade who took both the WKCE and NWEA tests in the fall of 2003. Information from these tests was used in…

This policy report focuses on the tensions and dilemmas surrounding one of the most common milestones used for defining and measuring English Learners' (ELs) progress: their redesignation or reclassification from limited to fluent English proficient (FEP). Although reclassification can have important consequences for students and for the education…

This study examined the relationship between high-stakes testing pressure and student achievement across 25 states. Standardized portfolios were created for each study state. Each portfolio contained a range of documents that told the "story" of accountability implementation and impact in that state. Using the "law of comparative…