Test-based accountability as well as value-added asessments and much experimental and quasi-experimental research in education rely on achievement tests to measure student skills and knowledge. Yet, we know little regarding fundamental properties of these tests, an important example being the extent of measurement error and its implications for…

A high school education, which includes access to advanced math courses, has a positive effect on students. Math classes taken in high school show a relationship to higher salaries and college graduation rates. However, the high-stakes accountability system in California, redesigned in 2003 to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act…

Annual student testing may make it possible to measure the contributions to student achievement made by individual teachers. But would these "teacher value-added" measures help to improve student achievement? I consider the statistical validity, purposes, and costs of teacher value-added policies. Many of the key assumptions of teacher value added…

Value-added methods refer to efforts to estimate the relative contributions of specific teachers, schools, or programs to student test performance. In recent years, these methods have attracted considerable attention because of their potential applicability for educational accountability, teacher pay-for-performance systems, school and teacher…

Teacher effectiveness and evaluation using student growth measures is a popular reform strategy in education. Teachers can make a difference in student academic growth, but a question that begs an answer is how to go about measuring this impact. This study examines models of teacher effectiveness and the development of hierarchical linear models…