Forcing the Fit Using Alternative “Student Growth” Measures
As discussed on this blog prior, when we are talking about teacher effectiveness as defined by the output derived via VAMs, we are talking about the VAMs that still, to date, only impact 30%-40% of all America’s public school teachers. These are the teachers who typically teach mathematics and/or reading/language arts in grades 3-8.
The teachers who are not VAM-eligible are those who typically teach in the primary grades (i.e., grades K-2), teachers in high-schools who teach more specialized subject areas that are often not tested using large-scale tests (e.g., geometry, calculus), and the teachers who teach out of the subject areas typically tested (e.g., social studies, science [although there is a current push to increase testing in science], physical education, art, music, special education, etc.). Sometimes entire campuses of teachers are not VAM-eligible.
So, what are districts to do when they are to follow the letter of the law, and the accountability policies being financially incentivized by the feds, and then the states (e.g., via Race to the Top and the NCLB waivers)? A new report released by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the US Department of Education, and produced by Mathematica Inc. (via a contract with the IES) explains what states are up to in order to comply. You can find the summary and full report titled “Alternative student growth measures for teacher evaluation: Profiles of early-adopting districts” here.
What investigators found is that these “early adopters” are using end-of course exams, commercially available tests (e.g., the Galileo assessment system), and Student Learning Objectives (SLOs), which are teacher-developed and administrator-approved to hold teachers accountable for their students’ growth. Although an SLO is about as subjective Forcing the Fit Using Alternative “Student Growth” Measures |: