Tag: student growth

Analytics
Jennifer Bell 0
Pennsylvania principal uses student projections to foster academic success for more students

This student projections post kicks off a series highlighting education leaders sharing the celebrations, and challenges, of using data to drive school improvement. These are real teachers, principals and superintendents working to foster academic growth for every student in their schools and districts. As we near the end of the first

Analytics | Students & Educators
Jennifer Bell 0
From compliance to commitment: The power of student growth data

As teachers, we lean into our experience. We trust our judgment about students and our instruction. We trade teaching stories with colleagues. And increasingly, we examine student growth data that illuminates our practice and occasionally suggests we refine our approach to individual students. In the past decade, states and districts

Students & Educators
Jennifer Bell 0
Study reveals little impact of student teachers on value-added measures (with exceptions)

As teachers across 35+ states are evaluated, and sometimes compensated, in part by the academic growth of their students, there may be an unintended consequence. Teachers may question whether to accept student teachers, in fear of the student teacher bringing down their value-added estimate(s) and overall evaluation rating. How can

Students & Educators
Jennifer Bell 0
Advocating for a robust value-added implementation

Recently, the American Statistical Association (ASA) released a statement about value-added modeling. This statement was widely covered in the national press, some of which positioned the statement as a significant blow to value-added modeling. However, the ASA statement did not “slam” value-added modeling; rather, the statement’s authors advocated statistical rigor,

Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
South Carolina teacher evaluation system supporting professional growth

Today it is common knowledge that a classroom teacher is the single largest in-school influence on student academic growth[1].  So when South Carolina received ESEA flexibility in July, 2012, the State Department of Education immediately began an initiative empowering teachers to increase their own effectiveness. Known as the Educator Evaluation System

Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
Teacher effectiveness culture shifts in Lubbock ISD schools – Part 3: The Superintendent

This is part 3 of a blog series on how Lubbock Independent School District (Lubbock ISD) uses SAS® EVAAS to improve teaching and learning by promoting self-reflection and aiding instructional and administrative decision-making. This is done in a district that, in the past decade, has experienced dramatic increases in the percentage

Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
Teacher effectiveness culture shifts in Lubbock ISD schools – Part 1: The Teachers

Improving teacher effectiveness is no simple task. Whether a part of a formal evaluation system or for formative feedback, looking at student growth data can be a valuable part of the development process for teachers and administrators. Lubbock Independent School District (Lubbock ISD) uses SAS® EVAAS to improve teaching and

Analytics | Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
Top rated value-added school: Extreme test prep or well-rounded experience? A student’s perspective

A recent Charlotte Observer article provided a thoughtful investigation of growth and achievement in North Carolina’s Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools). The article juxtaposed two very different, yet highly effective, schools. The first, Ranson Middle School, is a low-achieving school with 84% poverty that demonstrated the highest academic growth of any similar

Students & Educators
Jennifer Bell 0
School, teacher, student data: Where do we grow from here?

Over the past few months, many US states and districts have received data about student growth and teacher effectiveness. Some educators experience the excitement of outstanding scores and, most importantly, the success of their students’ growth.  Some quietly plug along, satisfied to be meeting growth targets and deciding if it isn’t broken,

Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
Value-added myth busting, Part 4: Value-added models cannot measure growth of students who have missing data or are highly mobile

Students with missing test scores are often highly mobile students and are more likely to be low-achieving students. It is important to include these students in any growth/value-added model to avoid selection bias, which could provide misleading growth estimates to districts, schools and teachers that serve higher populations of these

Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
Busting myths of education value-added analysis, Part 3: Simple growth measures provide better information to educators.

Welcome to Part 3 of the value-added Myth Busters blog series. I have heard a variation of this many times. “Why shouldn’t educators just use a simple gains approach or a pre- and post-test? They can trust simpler methodologies because they can replicate and understand them more easily.” Simple growth measures

Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
Busting myths of education value-added analysis, Part 2: It is harder to show growth with high-achieving students

Welcome to Part 2 of the value-added Myth Busters blog series…have you heard this one before? Educators serving high-achieving students are often concerned that their students’ entering achievement level makes it more difficult for them to show growth. “How can my students show growth if they are already earning high

Students & Educators
Nadja Young 0
NC teachers’ voices regarding use of student growth in educator evaluations

In 2011-2012, North Carolina became one of many states to restructure their educator evaluation system to incorporate student growth. The NC Department of Public Instruction commissioned the external expertise of WestEd to evaluate various growth models and recommend value-added technology that would help them best meet their mission of using meaningful evaluation to