A Validity Argument Approach to Evaluating Teacher Value-Added Scores

Heather C. Hill, Laura Kapitula, Kristin Umland
2011 The American Educational Research Journal  
Value-added models have become popular in research and pay-forperformance plans. While scholars have focused attention on some aspects of their validity (e.g., scoring procedures), others have received less scrutiny. This article focuses on the extent to which value-added scores correspond to other indicators of teacher and teaching quality. The authors compared 24 middle school mathematics teachers' value-added scores, derived from a large (N = 222) district data set, to survey-and
more » ... based indicators of teacher quality, instruction, and student characteristics. This analysis found teachers' value-added scores correlated not only with their mathematical knowledge and quality of instruction but also with the population of students they teach. Case studies illustrate problems that might arise in using value-added scores in pay-for-performance plans.
doi:10.3102/0002831210387916 fatcat:kiz7y7wefncf7od6nhqweceoq4