Value-Added Measures

We are no longer updating this page.
Equity & Diversity Opinion Teacher Education Leaders Speak Out: Kevin Kumashiro on Teacher Preparation, edTPA and Reform
This week, I am sharing interviews with several leaders of schools of education around the country, who have thoughts about these issues and more. First up is Kevin Kumashiro, Dean of the University of San Francisco's School of Education.
Anthony Cody, May 25, 2014
•
9 min read
School & District Management Opinion Massachusetts Teachers Association Takes On High Stakes Tests, School Takeovers
Activist rank-and-file movements are ramping up teachers unions' fight for justice, reason, and community solidarity by passing resolutions and winning offices across the country.
Anthony Cody, May 22, 2014
•
9 min read
Education Funding Opinion John Thompson: Can the Gates Foundation Learn?
Reformers once won a series of political victories, even as their educational theories were repeatedly defeated by realities in schools that are far more complex than anything they imagined.
Anthony Cody, May 5, 2014
•
5 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion John Thompson Reviews John Kuhn's 'Fear and Learning'
It was a Texan, Diane Ravitch, who rallied teachers when it seemed like public schooling was condemned to its Alamo. Now, it may be a Texan, John Kuhn, who points the way out of the educational civil war launched by data-driven reform.
Anthony Cody, April 10, 2014
•
5 min read
Federal Opinion John Thompson: Legal Woes Growing for VAM-Based Teacher Evaluations
Since teachers must basically prove that value-added terminations are based on an irrational use of the model, it is no surprise that the first suits include cases where teachers are held accountable for the test score growth of students who they did not have in class.
Anthony Cody, March 30, 2014
•
7 min read
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion Bill Gates, On the Record
I am less interested in the praise that he will heap on the accomplished educators in the room than in what he has said and done in the past, when speaking to altogether different audiences. So like Marley's ghost on Christmas eve, I want to take us on a bit of a tour of the echoes of Gates' past
Anthony Cody, February 18, 2014
•
6 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion John Thompson: Vergara Show Trial Highlights Gates Foundation Snake Oil
Vergara is a tragic distraction from the real problems facing our high-challenge schools, as well as the real reasons why it is difficult to staff high-poverty schools.
Anthony Cody, February 13, 2014
•
5 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Are Corporate Education Reformers Like Young Earth Creationists?
In the spirit of the recent debate between science educator Bill Nye and creationist Ken Ham, let's take a look at the central points of belief for corporate education reform, and see if there is evidence.
Anthony Cody, February 9, 2014
•
6 min read
Federal Opinion John Thompson: Time to Fact-Check the Reformers
What if school reformers were open about their errors in fact and their misleading use of language? How would reformers fare if their facts were truly held up to scrutiny?
Anthony Cody, December 3, 2013
•
4 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion John Thompson: Is Moving Strong Teachers to Struggling Schools a Viable Strategy?
The idea that financial incentives can improve teacher quality in an age of high-stakes testing is dead on arrival unless top teachers can produce gains in the tough schools that are comparable to gains in lower-poverty schools.
Anthony Cody, November 12, 2013
•
6 min read
School & District Management Report: Teacher-Evaluation Policies Becoming Increasingly 'Rigorous'
The Washington-based National Council on Teacher Quality released its annual report rounding up states' teacher-evaluation policies, which have become increasingly stringent over the last few years.
Liana Loewus, October 30, 2013
•
1 min read
Standards & Accountability Opinion Paul Horton: Pseudo Democracy: Duncan Double Dribbles in Chicago
I managed to calm down only when I began to recall that virtually none of what he said was true: graduation rates are at an all time high,
Anthony Cody, October 28, 2013
•
7 min read
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion John Thompson: Michelle Rhee's DC IMPACT Value Added System Drives Teachers Out
It stands to reason that effective teachers who are "false positives," meaning that they were inaccurately categorized, will behave like their colleagues who are not effective. Both will leave the D.C. schools.
Anthony Cody, October 23, 2013
•
5 min read
Teaching Profession Teacher-Evaluation Fears Playing Out in New York
A Syracuse high school is serving as a case study for how apparent glitches in an evaluation system can affect teacher morale—and potentially jeopardize teachers' careers.
Liana Loewus, October 15, 2013
•
2 min read
Load More ▼