AERA Statement on Use of Value-Added Models (VAM) for the Evaluation of Educators and Educator Preparation Programs
Approved by AERA Council, June 2015
The purpose of this statement is to inform those using or considering the use of value-added models (VAM) about their scientific and technical limitations in the evaluation of educators and programs that prepare teachers. The statement briefly reviews the background and current context of using VAM for evaluations, enumerates specific psychometric problems with VAM, and addresses the validity of inferences from VAM, given the challenges of isolating the contributions of teachers and school leaders from the many other factors that shape student learning. The statement also addresses the limitations of using VAM to evaluate educator preparation programs, given the wide variation of experiences and settings in which graduates from those programs work and the lack of comparable and complete information on programs. In addition, the statement goes beyond a consideration of challenges and limitations by specifying eight technical requirements that must be met for the use of VAM to be accurate, reliable, and valid. The statement concludes by stressing the importance of any educator evaluation system meeting the highest standards of practice in statistics and measurement. It calls for substantial investment in research on VAM and alternative methods and models, and cautions against VAM being used to have a high-stakes, dispositive weight in evaluations.
Introduction
The purpose of this statement is to inform those using or considering the use of VAM about the scientific and technical limitations of its inclusion in the implementation of evaluation systems.
The use of VAM to evaluate educators and educator preparation programs continues to be the subject of discussion and debate. There is a shared interest in policy and practice communities in implementing educator evaluation systems that can lead to improvements in instructional practices and that are fair and free of bias. Nevertheless, there is considerable disagreement among education policy …
Research Group Latest to Caution Use of 'Value Added' for Teachers - Teacher Beat - Education Week http://bit.ly/1OEOA0c