The purpose of this research was to determine if the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System Average Growth Index (PVAAS AGI) scores, derived from standardized tests and calculated for Pennsylvania schools, provide a valid and reliable assessment of teacher effectiveness, as these scores are currently used to derive 15% of the annual…

States across the country are developing systems for evaluating school principals on the basis of student achievement growth. A common approach is to hold principals accountable for the value added of their schools--that is, schools' contributions to student achievement growth. In theory, school value added can reflect not only principals'…

This report presents findings from Phase 2 of a three-year teacher evaluation pilot conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Principals evaluated the teaching practices of teachers using The Framework for Teaching, a rubric that includes 22 components grouped into four broad teaching practice domains: (1) planning and preparation,…