This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

For the past decade, the accountability model associated with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasized proficiency on end of year tests; with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) the emphasis on proficiency within statewide testing programs, though now integrated with other measures of student learning, nevertheless remains a primary metric for…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

The assessment of the achievement of students and the quality of schools has drawn increasing attention from educational researchers, policy makers, and practitioners. Various test-based accountability and feedback systems involving the use of value-added techniques have been developed for evaluating the effectiveness of individual teaching…

Contemporary educational accountability systems, including state-level systems prescribed under No Child Left Behind as well as those envisioned under the "Race to the Top" comprehensive assessment competition, rely on school-level summaries of student test scores. The precision of these score summaries is almost always evaluated using models that…

Value-added approaches for attributing student growth to teachers often use weighted estimates of building-level factors based on "typical" schools to represent a range of community, school, and other variables related to teacher and student work that are not easily measured directly. This study examines whether such estimates are likely…

Districts and schools use progress monitoring to assess student progress, to identify students who fail to respond to intervention, and to further adapt instruction to student needs. Researchers and practitioners often use progress monitoring data to estimate student achievement growth (slope) and evaluate changes in performance over time for…

Districts and schools use progress monitoring to assess student progress, to identify students who fail to respond to intervention, and to further adapt instruction to student needs. Researchers and practitioners often use progress monitoring data to estimate student achievement growth (slope) and evaluate changes in performance over time for…

This study examined the relationship between high-stakes testing pressure and student achievement across 25 states. Standardized portfolios were created for each study state. Each portfolio contained a range of documents that told the "story" of accountability implementation and impact in that state. Using the "law of comparative…