Value-added metrics or models (VAMs) are an important component of the teacher evaluation process that evaluators use to determine the value teachers add to their students' academic achievement. VAMs are used to arrive at a score that is derived from the number of the teachers' students who pass and/or fail a standardized assessment. While prior…

The Pennsylvania Educator Effectiveness System strives to place an effective teacher in every classroom. This evaluation system incorporates the use of value-added growth measures, not only at the teacher level, but also at the building level. These building level scores are included in every teacher's yearly evaluation. This study sought to…

The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between state-recorded value- added (VA) scores and academic optimism (AO) scores, which measure teacher self-efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis. The sample for this study is 87 third through eighth grade Reading teachers, from fifty-five schools, in an urban school district in Ohio who…

Researchers using VAM (Value-Added Models) methods have found that student achievement is substantially impacted by both schools and teachers. However, most of this work has been conducted within the context of the United States. Information is lacking about the educational system in China. This first study examines methodological concerns…

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…

Educational leaders are struggling with the issue of academic reform as it pertains to accountability for student achievement. With increasing pressures to improve student achievement, many states have adopted value-added measures to monitor student growth and teacher effectiveness. This study undertook a quantitative approach to examine the…

Teacher value-added measures (VAM) are designed to provide information regarding teachers' causal impact on the academic growth of students while controlling for exogenous variables. While some researchers contend VAMs successfully and authentically measure teacher causality on learning, others suggest VAMs cannot adequately control for exogenous…